


Istanbul (not Constantinople)

by maddiebug



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Emma is not Marinette's daughter, Future Fic, Future miraculous users, Gen, Lila is sus, Lila rossi is missing, Marinette is unhinged, Miraculous Ladybug Next Generation, Oblivious Adrien Agreste, Unreliable Narrator, adrien is old, bias, hawkmoth is someone else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiebug/pseuds/maddiebug
Summary: Years after the defeat of Hawkmoth, magic returns to Paris. Adrien is determined to protect his daughter from her grandfather's legacy, and the truth about the miraculous. But that might prove difficult when the girl inherited more than just Adrien's looks....The girl stood in front of Paris. "I'm not Chat Noir. I'm Kitty Noire, and me and my Ladybug will be protecting Paris"
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 72
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Reconnecting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15550236) by [Peppermint_Shamrock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_Shamrock). 



> "Even old New York was once New Amsterdam  
> Why they changed it I can't say  
> People just liked it better that way"  
> \- They Might Be Giants

When Adrien's phone had beeped with an Akuma alert, he thought it was a joke. Some weird prank by the emergency system in France.

Or a glitch.

There hadn't been Akuma in nearly 16 years. Not since he and Ladybug took down Hawkmoth. His own father.

...Not that Adrien had been paying much attention to the news in Paris. He had only moved back a week ago.

After the breakup, he moved to America for a while, trying to figure out what to do with his life. Since the day he was born, his father had controlled his every move, from modelling to business school. 

Now that he was gone, Adrien didn't know what he wanted. 

He just knew he wasn't happy in any relationship, and _she_ didn't want to be married to the son of a terrorist, because it ruined her reputation, or so _she_ claimed, and so they split.

Adrien had never wanted to marry Lila, and she had only wanted him for his status. As soon as his name was ruined, she wanted out.

Honestly, it was barely a relationship. They went on frequent "dates" to appease the press, but like everything, that ended when his father was arrested. Adrien never loved her, and he couldn't say that she ever liked him. It was a fake relationship, doomed from the start. They had only slept together once, the night after Hawkmoth was defeated, and afterwards, they both knew it was a mistake. 

They were both in their 20s, young adults responsible for their action. They had used protection, and everything. 

It wasn't until after he moved that Adrien found out he had a daughter. 

Adrien wanted to be a good father, but he was afraid that he would end up like his own father, so he kept his distance. He sent gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and paid a fair amount for child support. 

He had only met his daughter, Emma, once in person. 

The day of her first birthday, Adrien flew back and showed up at Lila's door, unannounced, with a cake and some baby clothes. When he held Emelie, named after his mother, in his arms for the first time, it was magical. He looked into Emma's precious little eyes, and he knew that he would do anything for her.

And the magic ended when Lila left him with the baby for five hours so she could go on a date. 

Adrien had never dealt with a baby before. He had no idea what to do. Changing her diaper was a stinky-smelling disaster that only succeeded after a Youtube tutorial. He fed her some baby formula when she cried, but it didn't help. Eventually, after some online research, he was able to rock the baby to sleep. 

And then a definitely drunk Lila came back to her apartment and yelled at him and said that she never wanted to see him again. And proceeded to block him on every from of social media. 

Every time he tried to reach out, she rejected him, saying that he was the biggest mistake of her life. She only let him sent birthday cards to Emma because he was her father. 

After one night of babysitting, Adrien didn't see Emma for 15 years.

Yeah... 

So Adrien didn't know how to be a parent.

But when he had gotten the news that Lila Rossi disappeared under mysterious circumstances, was presumed dead, and Emma was alone, Adrien moved back to be the father he had never had. 

Emma needed someone, and that someone was Adrien.

Once again, his path seemed clear. 

He was going to raise his daughter. 

It was awkward, of course. Adrien didn't know Emma Rossi, and she seemed to hate him, glaring at him before he even spoke to her.

"So, kiddo, how's it going."

"Kiddo? I'm fifteen, not seven." She raised an eyebrow. "How do you think its going? My mom disappeared, and left me with you. I don't even know you."

"I'm your dad." 

"You may be my father, but that doesn't make you my dad." She crossed her arms. "I thought you were dead until yesterday."

"I sent you a card every year."

"I thought mom made those up to make me feel better."

"I-" Adrien winced. "That hurt, but it's fair. You don't know me. I would be scared too."

"What? I'm not scared. I'm just-"

"Just what?"

"I miss Mom." Emma rubbed her eyes, which were starting to get watery. Adrien wasn't sure whether he should hug her or offer her some tissues. 

He opted to hand her a box of kleenex, which was the less awkward option.

"Its a lot to process. I get that. You have never met me before, but I'm here for you now."

"She wasn't perfect," Emma winced, "She really sucked sometimes, she'd forget about me, but she was my _mom,_ you know? She was all I had. She wasn't perfect, but she was all I had."

"I wish I could've been there for you. I really do."

"Why weren't you?"

Adrien paused. Really, why hadn't he? Was he really scared of Lila? Or did he just take the easy way out? Was he a coward? "Your mother didn't want me around. She told me to leave and never come back."

"She told me you were dead." Emma closed her eyes, trying not to cry. 

"She told a lot of lies." Adrien pet Emma's head, to comfort her. He wasn't sure how successful it was. "Like, when we were kids, she would claim to know all of these celebrities-"

"Did she?"

"No. It was all for attention. But people would listen. That's all your mother wanted, was someone to listen to her." Adrien shook his head. 

"Couldn't you do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe, if things had been different, if my father hadn't been-"

"Hawkmoth?"

"Yeah. If my father wasn't a literal supervillian, maybe I would've stayed with your Mom. I don't know."

"Do you really think so?"

"I don't know." 

"Huh."

Adrien frowned. "You're, what, fifteen? Fourteen?".

"Sixteen."

"Right." Adrien winced. What kind of father didn't even know how old his daughter was? "My mom disappeared when I was fifteen."

"What happened?" Emma looked up hopefully. "Did she come back after a while and get back with your father?"

"No..." Adrien looked down. "She never came back, and its what drove my father to become Hawkmoth, so this was not a helpful story."

Emma laughed. "So you're saying that you might become the next Hawkmoth? Thanks for the heads-up."

Adrien chuckled. "That's not at all what I was saying. I meant, I know how you feel. Kinda. My mom was super involved, and my dad was always busy. It was really weird when she was gone."

"Yeah. This is definitely weird." 

"But I've been through this once, I can do it again. And you have me."

"I have you. Even if I don't really know you."

"To be fair, I don't know you either. Not yet."

...

Adrien's relationship with his daughter was rocky, but got better every day.

They bonded over disney movies and videogames, which Adrien had a lot of. He had always kept a large collection of movies, because he spent a lot of time alone.

It was nice to watch them with someone. 

At least once a week, Adrien and Emma would sit down on the couch together and watch a movie. Adrien would make some popcorn in the microwave and they'd share it, as a family. A small family, but a family nonetheless.

Emma was a big fan of Moana, while Adrien liked Tangled. Some days, as a child, he had felt like Rapunzel in that tower.

(Haha but this story isn't about Adrien's childhood trauma)

Lila disappeared in June, and they had all summer to get used to their new lives together. It gave Emma a chance to adjust, and Adrien a chance to look around for a job.

He had received enough money from inheritance to live comfortably, but he needed something to do. He didn't like to sit still.

Unfortunately, when your father was Hawkmoth, no one would hire you. Adrien was too old for modelling, and he knew too much about the fashion industry to look for any other kind of job. 

So, Adrien Agreste was just kind of stuck. He went through the motions.

He focused on being a good Dad. He made breakfast every morning, lunch and dinner. Whenever Emma wanted to hang out with her friends, Adrien would give her a ride to their houses, or let Emma drive. He didn't want her to feel trapped or alone.

Not like he did.

...

Adrien's phone beeped with an Akuma alert when Emma was at school one day and Adrien dropped his phone from shock.

He went back 16 years, remembering the time when he was Chat Noir. He could close his eyes and picture any one of hundreds of Akuma attacking Paris.

After checking to verify that it was in fact a real Akuma, Adrien followed the Ladyblog's Akuma tracker to his daughter's school.

That was... less than ideal.

Adrien was without Plagg, without powers, but he had to do something.

He was the only one that could.

Adrien drove his car towards the school, speeding his way down the street. By the time he made it to the school, the Akuma had already started covering the walls in a bright, oozing goo.

Immediately, he jumped into action. Adrien opened the doors and helped usher hundreds of students out of the collapsing building. 

Not one of them was Emma. 

The teachers, all Adrien's age remembered the Akuma attacks of the past, and weren't too worried.

Adrien, however, was freaking out.

Only he and Ladybug knew that they retired. 

He didn't even know for sure if Ladybug was in Paris.

So Adrien did what he could, he grabbed the lid off of a trash can (to use as a shield), threw some rocks in his pocket (in Case he needed a distraction), and sprinted into the school.

He ran through the hallways, checking the mounds of goop that trapped children, but none of them had Emma.

The Akuma was in the gym. It was a monster, and the more Adrien stared at it, the more scared he felt, and the bigger it got.

Like Horrificater. 

That's what it remained him of. In every way, from the goo, to the power from his fear. 

As soon as Adrien made eye contact, he felt his knees go weak. He wasn't Chat Noir anymore. He was Adrien Agreste. Old, out of shape, powerless Adrien.

He shook that away by thinking, What would Chat Noir do? 

And he threw the trash can lid at the akuma's face.

The Akuma didn't like that.

It also didn't release a butterfly, like Adrien had hoped.

Out of options, Adrien tossed the rocks from his pocket. 

They didn't do much either, other than upset the Akuma more.

There was nothing else he could do.

The Akuma had him backed into a corner, trapped. He closed his eyes, ready to get hit and trapped in goo, when someone grabbed him and carried him outside.

At first, Adrien thought it was Ladybug. But Ladybug wasn't blonde. And she didn't use the cat miraculous.

When she set Adrien down, he stared. Adrien knew that girl's outfit like the back of his hand. Once upon a time, the black leather had fit him like a glove. He could imagine the ringing of the little bell, feel the tail. 

"Who the hell are you?" He bit his tongue. That had came out harsher than intended.

She scratched the back of her neck, like Adrien did when he was in an awkward situation. The resemblance was uncanny. "Usually people say thank you when you save them."

"You didn't save me. I was doing fine."

"Sure _Dad."_ The new Chat Noir rolled her eyes. "The Akuma eating you was perfectly fine."

Adrien blinked. "Did you just call me Dad?" Emma had only called him Dad a couple times. 

"What? No." 

"I swear-"

"Pshsh you must be hearing things." Her face was red.

"Maybe." He hummed.

"Dad? What's a dad? I don't even have a dad." Her stammering and bad excuses reminded him of an old friend.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Haha. Good talk, totally not my dad. gotta go fight. Bye!" The hero waved and was off.

Adrien laughed, remembering the first time he had saved Paris. He definitely remembered it as being less awkward.

...

It was hard to watch someone else do what had been Adrien's job for years, but the new heroes managed the first Akuma just fine.

It had been Mylene, as Adrien had suspected. She was a teacher now, and had gotten scared, when the Akuma got to her. Immediately, she was apologizing and no one knew how to respond.

Adrien gave her a hug, and called Ivan for her. He sat next to Mylene until her husband arrived. Getting akumatized was, and always had been, a traumatic event. 

Mylene got the rest of the day off to recover, but Adrien was on edge.

The heroes had managed to save the day, but they were nothing like he and Ladybug had been. The cat fumbled with her baton, it wasn't like an extension of her arm. Not like it had been for Adrien.

Of course, some of that came with practice.

It seemed that the new Hawkmoth was figuring out their powers too, as Gabriel Agreste was still in prison. 

The new Ladybug and Chat Noir had held a press conference to discuss what they knew. 

And Emma had to stay late at school for a project, so Adrien watched the broadcast alone.

The new heroes were young, inexperienced, and fearful.

But also they had energy. And passion. The new Chat had ambition in her eyes every time she spoke.

"Paris can count on me and Buggaboi to get the job done. We will save you."

"What about the old Ladybug?" The reporters asked. "What happened to her and Chat Noir?"

The girl stood proud and strong. "I'm not Chat Noir. I'm Kitty Noire, and me and my Ladybug will be protecting Paris. The old Ladybug trusted us with that responsibility."

"Are you related to the previous Chat? You have an uncanny resemblance-"

Buggaboi took the stage. "I'm sorry but there will be no further questions.

...

Adrien couldn't stop thinking about it. First, she, (Kitty Noire, not Emma) had called him Dad. She was blonde, just like Emma,with green eyes, just like Emma. Kitty Noire looked like she was Chat Noir's daughter.

Adrien just didn't know how to prove it.


	2. Chapter 2

When Emma was invited to Blaise's birthday party, Adrien didn't bat an eye. They we're in the same class, after all, and Alya and Nino seemed like the kind of parents who would invite every kid.

When Adrien was invited as well, he felt shocked.

He hadn't been the best friend to Nino over the years, after he split with Lila, Alya took Lila's side, and Adrien and Nino had fallen out of touch.

Maybe it was an olive branch, a gesture of goodwill and friendship.

Or Nino didn't want to be the only dad at the party. 

Either way, Adrien felt a surge of emotion when he got Nino's message. Nino had organized Adrien's first birthday party, and for that, he would be forever grateful.

Without even thinking, Adrien clicked that he and Emma were coming on the invitation.

And then he talked to Emma.

"You said we were going??" She shrieked.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Adrien winced.

"Yeah its a problem."

"I can say that we're busy. Its no big deal. Maybe I'll catch up with Nino some other time." As Adrien said the words, he knew they weren't true. He was never going to go out of his way to connect with anyone. 

Not when anyone he ever cared about had left him.

"No. No no." She waved her arms. "Not that kind of problem. I want to go."

"Okay. So?"

"Ugh." She sighed. "Mom was way better at this stuff than you are."

Adrien was truly lost. "What stuff?"

"I _like_ Blaise. A lot." She shook her head. 

"That's great Emma!" Adrien smiled. "Tell me about him."

"I don't want to embarrass myself."

"When I met my first crush, I fell on her. You can't do any worse than that."

"Well," she grinned, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"...I used to."

"Because when I first saw Blaise, I knew..."

Emma's voice trailed away as Adrien thought about the first love of his life. Ladybug. From the moment he saw her, he thought she was the one. His true love. 

But she didn't feel the same.

He didn't even know her real name. 

And it was a shame. He missed Ladybug every day. If he had dated her, waited for her, even talked to her, instead of Lila, maybe his life wouldn't be such a mess.

He looked at the girl sitting next to him and smiled. 

If he had married Ladybug, he wouldn't have Emma. And Adrien wouldn't trade his daughter for anything.

He looked down and froze. "Emma, where did you get that ring?"

"This?" She spoke slowly. "I. Got it from mom?"

"Huh." 

Adrien began spiraling.

It looked just like the Chat Noir ring. It could've been a replica, but Lila had never been a fan of the heroes. In fact, she had been actively against Ladybug in particular. She once led a protest, calling them menaces to society. Lila never would've gotten close enough to his ring to know what it looked like. The only person to have the ring other than him was Ladybug.

So Ladybug would've had to have given the ring to Emma, and she said she got it from her mom. 

So Lila had to be Ladybug.

Which also didn't add up, as she had been akumatized.

So either Emma was lying, to cover for Ladybug, or she wasn't a superhero.

Either way, Adrien made a mental note to stock up on cheese. 

No matter who Kitty Noire was, she was going to need a lot.

...

The day of the party came, and Adrien was more nervous than Emma.

What if Alya turned him away at the door? What if Nino didn't remember him?

He pushed the thoughts away as he walked in with Emma.

He stepped through the doorway, and ran, quite literally, into a familiar face, causing her to stumble and almost drop the boxes she was carrying.

"Marinette?" 

There she was in broad daylight, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She looked nearly the same and completely different all at once. Her hair was in her signature twin tales, styled like Ladybug's. Her outfit had changed, and she didn't have her earrings. Adrien remembered that Marinette had always worn the same pair of earrings everyday for the years that they went to school together. The only accessories were the ribbon in her hair and the pin on her shirt. It almost reminded him of a dragonfly. 

The bags under her eyes were new too. She was as cute as always, but the years had not been kind to Marinette. She looked like the date of the world rested on her shoulders. She was Atlas, being crushed by the thing that she had tried to protect...

Or maybe Adrien was projecting. He certainly felt tired. And Marinette looked good, just a bit tired. It was understandable. There had been an Akuma attack at 2am the night before that kept Adrien from falling asleep. It made sense that Marinette had a rough night too.

"Adrien?"

He gestured to the party. "I didn't know you had kids."

"I don't, I was just bringing the cake." She looked at Emma and froze.

Emma stared back at her. 

Adrien missed that whole interaction and tried to continue the conversation. "Oh cool, what kind of cake is it?"

"Chocolate." Marinette still wasn't moving. "With buttercream frosting. Blaise's favorite."

Emma looked up at Marinette and titled her head. "Do I know you?"

Marinette waved it off. "I just have one of those faces."

"You should go to the party." Adrien smiled at Emma. "Have fun."

Marinette looked at Emma, then back at Adrien. "I didn't know she was yours- I didn't know you had any children." Then she whispered something under her breath about karma, that Adrien didn't really hear.

"Yeah. Her mom and me split up before she was born, so I haven't been around much."

"You were traveling the world, right? America, England-"

He nodded. "Someone's been keeping track."

"You're the most interesting of any of my Facebook friends."

"Yeah. It seems like all I have right now are Facebook friends."

Marinette gave him a one handed-hug, the other hand balancing the cakes. "It must be really hard for you right now."

"I'm coping. How are you? Are you and Alya still close?"

"We weren't, but a few months ago, she came in to my parent's bakery to get some cookies and we've talked almost every day since."

"Huh. I haven't spoken to Nino in years. I don't know what to tell him."

Marinette chuckled. "You could start with hello."

"You're right. I don't know where I'd be without you Mari."

She blushed. "You'd probably already be talking to Nino. I should go."

"No, you should stay."

"I don't even have a kid-"

"Yeah, but you're a familiar face, and I'd rather have a friend around when Alya yells at me for breaking Lila's heart."

"Honestly," Marinette frowned. "Alya scares me. I don't think I could side with you." She laughed.

"Harsh."

"Go, Nino's right over there." She nudged him.

"Fine." He grabbed her hand. "But only if you come with me."

"Fine."

Before Adrien could say anything else, Nino had wrapped his arms around him. "Bro."

"Bro." Adrien tried to hold back tears. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"I should've called-"

"You were going through a lot. You still are."

"Yeah. But I'm always going through a lot. I mean, my mom had just disappeared when I met you guys."

"You're right." Nino pulled away. "But how are you?"

"Well, all things considered? I'm pretty good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I know nothing about being a father, and I feel like it's too little too late. But I'm trying."

"Its not too late." Nino patted his back. "You're doing what you can. We all are. And I know, it must be hard for you, especially with the Akuma coming back and-"

"Yeah." _You have no idea._ Adrien missed Ladybug and crime fighting so bad he wanted to cry. "But the new heroes seem capable."

"I trust them." Marinette, who had remained silent, spoke up. "100%. Th1ey can do what is needed."

"Wait." Nino paused and looked between Marinette and Adrien. "Hold up. Are you two, like, together?"

"What? No."

"Why would you think that?"

"You're holding hands." Nino pointed out.

Adrien pulled his hand away. "Sorry. I panicked."

"No it's fine." Marinette smirked. "I thought it was cute."

Adrien was blushing. "I uh-"

Nino raised an eyebrow at him.

"Damn girl. You've got game." Alya appeared, and grabbed Marinette, pulling her away, probably to talk about girl stuff.

Nino smiled. "You like Marinette."

"Pshhh. No way-"

"Yeah you do. I saw how you were blushing."

"So what? She's amazing. There's no way she'd ever like me-"

"She had a crush on you in middle school."

"That was forever ago. I don't even have a shot."

"You miss all the shots you don't take."

"I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Maybe." Nino shrugged. "But when you're ready, Marinette is a good place to start."

"Why are you pushing this so much now?"

"Alya and me have been trying to get you guys together since you met. Trust me. Its meant to be."

"Fine. Ill ask her on one date."

"Yess." Nino pumped a first into the air. 

"But not unless Emma is okay with me dating anyone."


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Adrien saw Marinette, he knew he had fallen for her. Hard.

But that was awkward and he couldn't just confess his undying love to a woman he didn't knew very well. It hadn't gone over great with Ladybug, after all. They had been friends, but it had been quite some time. 

Also, he didn't want to date another woman if Emma was uncomfortable with it. Even though Adrien and Lila would never get together again, he didn't want her to feel like he was trying to replace her mom.

It was hard enough to lose a parent. Not that Lila was gone. She could still be alive. Perhaps she was bored of her life and ran away.

Teenaged Lila definitely would have done something like that, but Adrien liked to believe that she had matured. He had no idea though. What kind of parent just abandons their child? 

For most of the party, Adrien stayed off to the side and chatted with Nino. Nino and Alya had three kids, Blaise, and the twins, Marc and Madeleine.

Adrien had Emma. While they had grown closer over the month that they had been living together, Adrien felt distanced. He was more like an uncle, that she saw once a year than a real father. 

Nino told him that it wasn't his fault, and they agreed that Lila should've told him that she was pregnant as soon as she knew. It was unlike Lila to keep secrets. Usually, she told everyone everything, but not this time.

Not ever. Maybe Adrien didn't know her as well as he thought she did. Obviously not, if she chose to leave Emma. 

Maybe he never knew her very well at all.

The subject of conversation changed as everyone gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to Blaise. The cake was a lovely-looking chocolate cake, decorated with handcrafted Ladybugs and Black Cats. Apparently, Blaise was a big fan of the superheroes. Marinette clearly put a lot of effort into making the cake. 

As the birthday boy blew out his candles, Adrien couldn't help but notice the earrings that Blaise wore. It was uncommon for teenaged boys to wear earrings, right? They were simple circle earrings, but something about them called to Adrien. 

No matter where he looked, the glimmer of the earrings kept catching his eye.

He wasn't going to go interrogate Blaise about where he got the earrings, because the kid didn't know him and that would be weird, but he was curious. Also, he didn't want to embarrass Emma. Asking about earrings probably could be embarrassing.

Even if the earrings looked particularly like a pair that Adrien had worn once or twice. The resemblance was uncanny, really. Adrien could vividly picture those earrings getting spots and transforming Blaise into Ladybug (Buggaboi?). 

Between Emma's ring and Blaise's earrings, Adrien was probably just imagining things. It was most likely a combination of trauma and hope. He missed being Chat Noir and he missed Ladybug.

Not revealing their identities was his biggest regret. 

If Adrien could go back in time, and change everything, he would. But he couldn't. Ladybug was gone. Chat Noir was too. Now he was just Adrien. And she was just some woman. She probably had a happy, fulfilling life without him.

Maybe it was for the best. 

Adrien looked at Blaise's earrings, tasting the bittersweet flavor of regret on his tongue.

The cake certainly helped to balance that out though.

Adrien hadn't thought about Ladybug in years. After they retired, and his disaster of a love confession, Adrien ran as far away from that life as he could. First he ran to Lila, and then he left the country.

He had been running for years, and now that he was back, he didn't want to face the facts. 

Even after all this time, Adrien was hopelessly in love with Ladybug, who would never love him back.

Even if Emma approved of Marinette, he could never date her. Ladybug would always be in the back of his mind. Ladybug was the only person he could love. 

"Ladybug-"

Without warning, Marinette grabbed his wrist and tugged him outside. "We need to talk."

"Okay, what's up?" 

"This is a conversation that we need to have in private. I don't know how you figured it out, or exactly how much you know, but it needs to stay a secret-"

"Sorry, I was just-"

"Look, Adrien." Marinette sighed. "17 years ago, I would've loved to talk about this with you."

"Me?"

"You."

"Why me?"

"You didn't know?" Marinette chuckled at Adrien's dumbfounded look. "I used to have the biggest crush on you."

"I had no idea." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "I was too busy being obsessed with Ladybug."

Marinette blushed. "We'll get back to that."

"Why did you pull me outside?"

"I saw the look in your eyes." 

"So then Ladybug-"

"Is Blaise. Yes. Although, he goes by the name Buggaboi."

"A classic."

"Sure." Marinette rolled her eyes. "I wish I had my own children, so that I could properly train them and give them the support I need, but I don't. And Emma and Blaise had the right energies."

"I was right. I thought I recognized the ring."

"I knew it was risky to give it to Blaise, given Alya and Nino's history as miraculous holders, but he had the spirit. And Emma is so confident, and stepped into her position with ease, honestly, if I didn't know that she was your daughter, I would have thought that she was Chat Noir's."

"Yeah. Well, that's really something." Adrien paused. "How did you end up with all the miraculous, anyways? I thought there was a guardian?"

"Well, he died. And left them to me." 

"I'm sorry-"

"Its a huge responsibility, but its my responsibility."

"If you ever need help-"

"Thanks, Adrien, but it's not your problem. You were Aspik, what, like twice?"

 _Well three times if you counted Snake Noir, but Adrien wasn't sure if Marinette knew that he was Chat Noir, he had no idea how much information the last guardian had told her._ "yes."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I can manage."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Marinette shrugged. "I used to be Ladybug, at this point I can manage anything."

"You-"

"Shit." Marinette swore. "I thought you figured that out."

"Nope-"

"My bad. Now I have to erase your memories-"

"Please don't."

"Its a joke. Mostly. I haven't figured out that recipe."

"So I'm guessing you don't know who Chat Noir was?"

"No. And in 16 years, he hasn't tried to contact me once. If I find that bastard I am going to throw him halfway across Paris-"

"I thought you were friends."

"We were. And then he broke my heart."

"He- You broke his heart."

"I lost my best friend that day, Adrien. It was only after he left that I realized how much he meant."

"Wow."

"Sorry, I just unloaded a lot on you, do me a favor and pretend we never had this conversation."

"But-"

"Do yourself a favor."

"I want to help."

"Adrien-"

"We really should train them. This new Hawkmoth is tricky."

"She goes by Mariposa."

"Mariposa?" 

"Yeah. No one knows what her motives are."

"Well, at least we know its not my dad this time."

"Yeah. Oh my God, Adrien are you okay. I can't imagine how-"

"Its been a while. I've moved on."

"Still, I can't-"

"Look, this is a hard conversation, for both of us. I think we need to talk more, later."

"Agreed."

"I need a moment though, to process."

"That's totAlly understandable. When you want to keep talking, just meet me at the bakery."

"You still live with your parents?"

Marinette sighed. "Yeah. I'd rather not talk about it."

"No judgement, just-"

"The miraculous ruined my life. I don't want them to ruin anyone else's."

There was a moment of silence. Adrien's life had been ruined by the miraculous too. A lot of people had trauma and problems that the magic had caused.

But clearly, it affected Marinette deeper than that.

"I'm sorry."

"Its not your fault." She gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, really."

At Marinette's insistence, Adrien went back into the party. He really didn't want to leave her, but she looked close to tears. And he had a lot to process.

A lot.

Like the fact that she was Ladybug. 

He had fallen in love with her twice.

Adrien was hopeless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha this is a mess. I should probably rewrite this whole thing Idk.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the first few chapters a bit, no hugs changes, just fixed some inconsistencies. Adrien and Lila never got married, they just did it once, I rewrote some paragraphs that were awkward so it flows better, but you really don't need to reread it. No major changes.

A week later, Adrien decided to take Marinette up on her offer.

When Emma was at school, Adrien stopped by the bakery. 

"Is that Adrien Agreste?" Sabine Cheng gave him a smile. "Croissant?"

"I-"

"Its on the house." Before Adrien could say anything, Sabine wrapped up a croissant. "Any friend of Marinette's-"

It was a wonder that she recognized him. It had been years since he visited Paris. Years since he talked to Marinette. Or Ladybug.

"I actually want to talk to Marinette, if that's okay?" Adrien suddenly realized how awkward it was. Marinette was at her job. She was working. He couldn't just interrupt their family business.

"I'll give her the afternoon off." She winked at him

Oh. OH. She definitely thought that- it didn't matter. This was a friendly talk. Between friends. Even though Adrien wanted to make out with Marinette they were adults and he respected her too much to do that.

Unless, of course, she wanted to. 

Marinette came out of the kitchen, looking beautiful. Her hair was in a messy bun, and there was some flour on her face, but she was gorgeous. She had an apron on, over her clothes, and... 

She looked tired.

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"I want to talk. La-" he quickly corrected himself, "-Marinette, we need to talk."

"Look. I dumped a lot on you, and I'm sorry. I kinda had a breakdown."

"Its probably my fault anyways."

"Its not your fault. Someone was bound to figure out the new heroes identities sooner or later. I'm glad it was someone I trust."

"You trust me?"

"You never told anyone that you were Aspik. You can keep a secret. I respect that."

"Yeah." Adrien chuckled. "About secrets.... can we talk somewhere private?"

"Yeah, give me a minute." Marinette hung her apron on the wall and whispered something to her mother.

Her mother winked at Adrien, again, and he fought back a blush. Nothing was going on between them.

Marinette and Adrien walked to his car, and he realized that he didn't have a plan. He wanted to tell her everything, but he didn't know how to. They got into his parked car, and for a moment, just sat in silence.

"What did you want to talk about? The miraculous, the heroes?" Marinette raised an eyebrow. "I can-"

"I want to be co-guardians with you." Adrien blurted out.

"What?" She blinked. Clearly that had not been what she was expecting.

"Look, I know its a huge responsibility and I feel like I should near some of the weight."

"No, Adrien-"

"I don't have a job right now, I could help train the heroes, I could hand out miraculous, I could help you."

"I think that-"

"You're clearly very stressed about it, and I want to help you. Marinette, you're my friend. And the fate of the world kind of rests in your hands." He smiled. "Let me help."

"I suppose you could help, but you don't have very much experience with the miraculous."

"Actually, I-"

Marinette shrugged. "And if you need a job, my parents are looking to hire someone part-time at the bakery."

"You really don't need to-"

"It'd give us an excuse to talk, to figure things out."

"Just don't hate me."

"What?" Marinette stopped talking. "Why would I hate you? You just offered to help me? You are willing to be responsible for the fate of the world. You're a hero."

"I'm a coward. I abandoned you and I'm sorry." Adrien looked down.

"What are you talking about?"

"I ran away. As soon as it was all over, I ran. I should've talked to you. I should've told you how I felt. How I really felt-"

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Its my fault that you had to do this alone."

"No, its not." Marinette frowned. "Don't blame yourself Adrien."

"But I-"

"Your father was a terrorist. Your whole world got turned upside down. Had I been in your situation, I would've ran too."

"So, you don't think that-"

"You're not responsible for what happened to me."

"Thanks." Adrien was quiet for a moment. He didn't know how to tell her that he was responsible. He was Chat Noir. Every time he tried to bring it up, she just pushed it away.

"So its a yes?"

"Huh?"

"On being co-guardians?"

"Of course its a yes. I could use a partner in crime. And you were my friend. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"I-" Adrien scratched the back of his neck, "I think I have some idea." He missed her more as Ladybug, but Marinette had been one of his best friends. It would be nice to hang out with her again. 

She threw her arms around him. "You and me against the world."

"You're Ladybug, the world will never be against you."

"They might be.."

"I'd do anything for you. Chat Noir never should have left."

"No." She winced. "But it was my fault. I didn't mean to be so rude when-"

"Its in the past. Its fine." Adrien shrugged. "Besides, you're probably happier without him, and -"

"You couldn't be more wrong."

"What?"

"I've never been happy with anyone that isn't Chat."

"What?"

"Every time I try to date someone, they're not right. One guy was too short, another not blonde, not funny enough, not loyal. Eventually I realized those aren't things wrong with people, those are just the ways that they aren't him."

"Do you ever think you could love anyone else?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I think I've mostly moved on. I'd like to date someone else. But I know if he came back into my life, I'd drop everything for him."

Adrien's heart did a little flip. "I love you."

"I... loved you." Marinette frowned. "Do you want to go on a date?"

"Yes. Maybe. I need to talk to Emma. And-"

"Let's do it. I missed you."

"I missed you too-" Adrien's phone started beeping. "Sorry, I need to pick Emma up from school. "Should I drop you back off at the bakery, or-"

"I have the afternoon off." She shrugged. "Can I come with you?"

"If you want to-"

"I don't mean to intrude. I just kinda feel like if I let you out of my sight, I'm never going to see you again." Her voice had a joking gone, but she had no idea how much the words weighed on Adrien.

"Well, that's not going to happen, Marinette. I promise, I will do my best to be your partner. I need to bear some of the weight." Adrien felt guilty for what had happened to Marinette. To the world. As former Chat Noir he had a duty to help protect Paris.

"I can go back home-"

"No. Stay." Adrien smiled. "I think Emma should meet you. You're my best friend."

"I thought Nino-"

"You were always my best friend."

She smiled. "I'm really touched, but my best friend was Chat Noir."

Right. He hadn't told her yet. 

...

When Emma got in the car, Adrien quickly introduced the two of them. 

"Emma, this is my friend, Marinette."

"Hi." They shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Did you want to stay over for dinner or should I bring you back home, Mari?"

"I don't want to intrude-"

"Its really no big deal, and we have so much to talk about. Right?" Adrien glanced at Emma. "Is it okay if Marinette stays over for dinner?"

Emma crossed her arms. "I don't care."

"Great. I'll order pizza."

"There's a lot I need to explain." Marinette looked at Adrien. "I can do it later."

"Its not a big deal. We never have guests over. It'll be fun."

"Great. Okay. I just don't want to be a burden."

"Marinette. I'd be glad if you stayed for dinner."

"Okay." She blushed. "Okay."

Neither of them noticed the way that Emma glared out the window as they drove home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow Adrien and Marinette sure are getting close fast. They took the indemnity reveal pretty well, all things considered. Its been so long and they're finally reconnecting. 
> 
> I wonder what's up with Emma? Is she mad at Marinette?
> 
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!  
> (Slight edit to this chapter: Adrien hasn't revealed his identity to Marinette, but he plans to)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the previous chapter. Marinette does not know that Adrien is Chat Noir yet.  
> Marinette was open to the idea of dating Adrien, she wants to move on, But she did admit that she would leave behind everything if it meant that she could be with Chat Noir.

After dinner, and a private conversation between Marinette and Adrien about the history of the miraculouses, Marinette decided to walk home. Adrien wanted to go with her, but she insisted on going alone.

"Thanks for dinner. It was nice, really, but I should be going."

"I can give you a ride, its no problem."

"I need the fresh air."

"Its raining, let me drive you."

"I don't want to be a burden-"

"Here, at least take this." Adrien opened the closet and pulled out an umbrella. "I don't want you to get sick."

Marinette smiled. "Thank you for this."

"No problem, you can come over anytime."

"Any time?"

He was a goner. "You're always welcome here, Marinette."

Eventually, she left, borrowing his umbrella for the rain.

Adrien had learned a lot. He had known that the original Hawkmoth had wanted the miraculous, but he didn't know why. 

Apparently, when combined, the Cat and Ladybug miraculous could grant the user a wish. Any wish. 

His father of course, was going to wish to revive his mother. 

It was... a surprisingly wholesome reason for his horrible actions. Before the defeat, Hawkmoth had been a distant, faceless figure, who was completely evil. 

But he wasn't. He was a real person, with real motivations. He had been doing the wrong thing for the right reason. 

The new Hawk- _Mariposa,_ was mysterious. She (he?) hadn't made any public statements.

The Akuma so far had been big and dramatic, but not particularly successful in anything other than grabbing the public's attention. And the weirdest part was that they were all repeat Akuma. Adrien watched as his old classmates and friends became akumatized into the same forms that they had been years before.

(Which meant that Adrien personally would not be akumatized. As far as he was aware, he never fell victim to Hawkmoth's calling. His father never targeted him).

It was strange. Whoever Mariposa was, she must have done her research on the Ladyblog. She used her powers to mimic the previous Akuma. And the new heroes were easily able to take down the Akuma in nearly the same ways that he and Ladybug had. All of the footage was nearly identical to that of 20 years ago.

Or the butterfly miraculous was affected from its previous owner. Perhaps some of the knowledge was infused in the jewelry, there were only so many akumatized forms that could be made.

Even though Adrien had asked, Marinette didn't explain how she lost the butterfly miraculous. He had been there, as Chat Noir when they took it from Hawkmoth, and he could've sworn it had been returned to the miracle box, where it belonged.

Apparently not.

Marinette said that when she received the miracle box, it was missing. She chose to hand out the earrings and ring as a precaution. 

If a new Hawkmoth rose up, she explained, the world needed protectors, and she and any of the past heroes were too old. 

Emma and Blaise both passed some sort of test and apparently, they reminded Marinette of Chat Noir. She thought that he was the most heroic person ever. (Adrien silently disagreed. He was a coward. He couldn't even admit that he had been Chat). She kept talking about how much Emma reminded her of Chat, which made Adrien panic a bit, but his secret wasn't out yet. 

Eventually, he would tell her.

Once he figured out how.

She was already walking home, holding his umbrella. 

Someday, there would be nothing between the two of them. Ladybug and Chat Noir, back together again. 

As he watched her walk away through the window, Emma cleared her throat. "I thought you were better than her-"

Adrien turned around. Somehow, he had forgotten about Emma. She had been watching the whole time he was saying goodbye. It was kind if embarrassing. "I'm sorry?"

"Mom would bring 'friends' around all the time. A different guy each week. She wouldn't even remember their names." 

"Marinette is not-"

"Look," Emma waved her arms. "I don't want to know the details of whatever you were talking about when you two were in your bedroom."

"We weren't-"

"I don't want to know. Its your life." 

"Are you mad at me?" Adrien scratched his head. "I'm honestly a little big confused here."

"I think, I'm more mad at myself."

"Why?"

"Because I thought you were better than her. I thought you actually cared about me. But you're the same."

"I do care." Adrien frowned. "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. I want to be a better father than mine was. I do care about you, more than anything. Emma, you're my daughter. You are my number one priority."

"Then why did you cancel movie night to flirt with some girl?"

"She's not just some girl. Marinette was a very good friend of mine when I was younger and we were catching up."

"Oh..." Emma raised an eyebrow. "You know her name?"

"Of course I know her name? Why would I invite someone over for dinner if I didn't know their name?"

"Sorry, I assumed things and it wasn't fair. You aren't Mom. Sometimes I worry that you will be though."

"I promise I will try to be better than her. I won't lie to you."

"How do I know that's not a lie?"

"Trust me. It isn't."

"So why was Marinette here?"

"To catch up. And she was offering me a job at the bakery."

"Ooh, that sounds cool. I like her."

"Like five minute ago you were saying that-"

"Marinette seems nice, Dad." Emma shrugged. "I think I just overreacted because of stuff that happened with Mom."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Its fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm fine." She gave a weak smile. "I promise."

"Okay. If you ever want to talk, kitten, I'm here."

"I know Dad." Emma froze. "What did you call me?"

"Kitten."

"Haha I'm not a cat, I'm a human."

"I didn't mean-"

"What a strange nickname. Truly. Lets forget about it."

"Don't you mean _fur_ get about it?" He winked.

"That was the worst dad joke you've told so far." She shook her head. 

"I thought it was _purr_ etty good."

"Just stop-" she covered her ears with her hands.

"Cat puns really are my forte. Did you hear the one about the-"

"I can't hear you."

"Youve got some _Cat_ titude."

Emma walked to her room, ignoring the puns.

It was pretty funny to tease her. She was really obvious about her secret identity, it was a miracle that no one else knew. He wished that she would confide in him, but understood the pressure to keep the secret.

If Emma knew that he had been Chat Noir, maybe things would be different. Maybe she would trust him more. Maybe she would confide in him.

Or maybe not. 

Either way, Plagg had been eating the cheese wheels in the fridge like crazy. It was only a matter if time before Adrien could catch him red-handed.

And then he would have quite the talk with the little kwami.

God, he had missed Plagg.

Almost as much as Plagg had missed cheese. 

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me in chapter one: *hints at Lila being hawkmoth*   
> Me five chapters later: "okay but like, what if she's not... or is she?"


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Adrien made pancakes as a peace offering. He wanted to approach the topic gently, and make sure that Emma didn't feel like her mom was being replaced.

"So, how would you feel about me dating someone, who isn't your mother?"

"You were never going to get back with Mom. Go for it." Emma took it surprisingly well as she packed a lunch for school. "Is it Marinette?"

"What?"

"The girl you're dating. Is it Marinette? She seemed nice."

"She is nice." Adrien smiled. "And I don't know. Right now we're just friends, but I wanted to tell you before I started-"

"Youre my dad, you should do what makes you happy-" Emma did a double take. "Are those pancakes?"

"Yeah, do you want some?"

"Hell yeah."

Adrien made enough pancakes for the two of them, and they ate them with whipped cream and syrup.

"That was really good, Dad, thanks."

"No problem." Adrien really wanted to ask about being a superhero, but he didn't know how to approach the topic. He couldn't tell Emma about being Chat Noir before he told Marinette, but he didn't want to outright tell her that he identity had been compromised. "I bought you some cheese."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I've noticed how much cheese you've been eating, and I bought more." Adrien knew that it probably wasn't Emma eating the cheese, but it was an easy explanation if she wanted an out. Also, it was fun to mess with her. 

Her face got red. "You really didn't have to do that."

"It was no problem. I got 3 wheels of cheese." Adrien made eye contact with her, daring her to say something. If she was anything like him, she hated cheese. Camembert smelled like feet, it was the most unappetizing thing in his refrigerator, but if it meant he could talk with Plagg again, it would be worth it.

"Wheels? 

"You've been eating a lot of cheese. I wanted to make sure you had enough." Adrien watched as the pocket on Emma's shirt vibrated. He could practically see Plagg, full of energy and wanting cheese. "You like camembert, right?"

Emma's nose wrinkled briefly, before she covered with a smile. "I love camembert. Thanks so much!"

"You can put some in your lunch-"

"Thanks, gotta go, bye dad!" Emma ran out the door, throwing an entire wheel of cheese in her backpack before they could keep talking about cheese.

Oh well, maybe Adrien needed to go the direct route. Or he could keep messing with her. Eventually, he would see Plagg and they could get caught up. 

As Emma walked to the bus stop, Adrien caught a glance of her arguing with her bag, through the window. _Ahh classic Plagg._

...

He also started his job at the bakery today. 

He arrived early, wanting to make a good impression on Marinette's parents.

Sabine, of course, tried to give him free pastries, but he declined and explained that he was there to work. 

"Marinette said that you guys were looking for someone to work part time, and I'm looking for a job."

"You?"

"Yeah, if that's okay. I'm not much of a baker-"

"That's great. We were hoping for someone who could be in the front anyways. Tom and I do most of the baking."

"Oh, you're the friend she was talking about..." Sabine winked. Adrien wasn't sure what she was implying. "Marinette is in the back right now, helping with baking. She can explain how to man the front."

"Yeah, sounds great, I'll just wait here." Adrien sat in on of the chairs and waited for Marinette while making small talk with Sabine.

As she and Tom were getting older, it was getting harder for them to run a bakery all day. Marinette was their only other full time staff, but it was rough some days. 

Tom had messed up his back a few years ago, and never fully recovered right. He could mix and bake, but it was hard on him to bend over and pull things out of the oven, or to stand in the front all day and bend over to get things for customers. 

Sabine's hands were getting shaky, she could no longer do the details on the cakes. Her flowers ended up crooked and misshapen. 

That's where Marinette came in. And now, Adrien. 

When Marinette brought a fresh tray of cookies to the front and saw Adrien, she tilted her head. "You're early."

"I wanted to make sure I wasn't late."

"Well," she dusted off her apron. "I'm ready when you are."

Adrien stood up. "I'm ready. What do I do?"

"Slow down there, cowboy." Marinette laughed, walking over to sit across from him. "First, we have to talk logistics."

"Okay, yeah, I can do that."

She pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. "...are you available?"

"Always."

"Always?"

Adrien winked. "Yes, I'm always available for you, Buginette."

She rolled her eyes. "I asked, What times are you available? For work."

"Oh," he blushed, "all the time... except I have to drop Emma off at school at 8 and pick her up at 3."

Marinette wrote that down. "Good. That means you're available during the lunch rush."

"Good." He repeated.

"Do you have any experience? I know you used to be a model, but-"

"I actually worked in a fast food restaurant during university in America, so kind of. I know how cash registers work, and I can deal with difficult customers."

"Good. That's the hardest part."

"Just smile and agree with them. Its easier."

"The next question was do you have basic math skills, but I'm pretty sure you do, so we can skip that-"

"I majored in math. I think I can count change." Adrien chuckled.

"And how many hours per week are you planning on working?"

"As many as you need?"

"Okay." Marinette checked a couple boxes on her form. "Anything I should know? Any questions?"

"No. Nope, I'm ready to start."

"Great." Marinette threw an apron at him. "Put this on and we can do some customers together."

For the most part, it went really well. Adrien was good at talking with the customers and Marinette explained where all the food was stored.

The baked goods were organized by type, and Adrien quickly memorized the general locations of popular items, like macarons and croissants.

It was going smoothly, until one Chloé Bourgeois showed up.

After trying to hug him and yelling at him for not telling her that he was in Paris, (Adrien and Chloe had stopped being friends in secondary school), she made the most complicated pastry order that he had ever heard.

He had to endure an awkward conversation that was equal parts apologetic and angry. He couldn't tell if Chloe wanted to be his friend again or was mocking him. Apparently, she hadn't heard about Lila, and it really wasn't his place to tell her, so he smiled and nodded with everything Chloe said. The conversation was shallow and meaningless, and he had never wanted to punch Chloe more.

Luckily, Marinette was there to help, and together they got all of Chloe's items and put them in bags. Adrien used the cash register to charge her card and it seemed like it was a success.

Then, Marinette left to go to the bathroom and all hell broke loose.

Chloe bit into a croissant and reportedly found a raisin. She accused Adrien of trying to kill her, by making her choke and he of course, denied it all. 

He got defensive, saying it was an honest mistake and she said that he was jealous of how successful she was.

They both started yelling and when they were distracted a little butterfly made it's way to the half-eaten croissant in her hand.

Soon, Queen Wasp was standing in Chloe's place, looking like she had 20 years ago.

It looked like she had the exact same powers as before, but he didn't exactly have a lot of time to investigate and ask questions. 

The first thing Queen Wasp did was hit Adrien with her Venom. It stung, like a bee, and then his arm went numb. The numb feeling spread all over, and he found that he couldn't move. 

He was frozen until Buggaboi purified the Akuma.

Kitty Noire showed up to the fight, but saw Adrien, motionless and got distracted.

She too was frozen, before the fight moved back outside.

And Marinette must've gotten caught up in the fight, as guardian, or she was hiding in the back, because she didn't return until after Adrien could move again, after the whole fight was over.


	7. Chapter 7

After Queen Wasp was purified, Chloé apologized. Excessively. And she have Adrien a tip that was almost twice as much as the pastries had costed.

"Really, I don't know what came over me, Adrien, it's just a croissant. I don't care. My emotions have just been so crazy recently, with-"

"Its okay Chloe, I understand. With the return of magic, everyone is a little uneasy." Adrien scratched the back of his neck. "I'm worried that I'm going to be targeted this time around-"

Chloe let out a laugh. "You're kidding, right?"

"No? Why would I-"

"Haven't you noticed the pattern?"

"Yeah." Adrien nodded. "Mariposa is only attacking the people that were in our class, Mylene, you, Nathaniel, Nino-"

"No. Mariposa is only attacking people who have been akumatized before. There's no chance of you being akumatized."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would they only target-"

"I don't know." Chloe shrugged. "Its almost like Mariposa wants them to be defeated. Every Akuma has the same weaknesses that they had before, and the new heroes are able to easily defeat them. 

"That doesn't make sense. Why would you attack Paris for no reason?"

"I was a hero, but only for a short time. I've been talking with Alya, and we both agree that nothing about Mariposa makes sense. I'm sure Ladybug or Chat Noir would have a better explanation."

Adrien was Chat Noir, and he didn't understand at all. In fact, the more he learned about Mariposa, the less he understood. "I think, if they had an explanation, they'd say something."

"Personally, I think it's a cry for attention."

"Attention?" Adrien frowned. _What kind of person would want all that attention?_ It didn't make any sense.

Then he remembered what his father used to say, _"Any press is good press."_

If it was a cry for attention, it was an effective one. Maybe Mariposa was trying to bring light to the lack of support for past Akuma victims. Or they were trying to attract the attention of the monks that supposedly knew more about the miraculous. 

Or, like Adrien originally assumed, they wanted revenge.

It would make sense, if Mariposa was someone that had been hurt by his classmates. Someone who had been their friend, but had been wronged. Maybe a secret of theirs came out. 

He really wanted to think that Lila had changed, but the most likely explanation was that she was Mariposa.

Even the timeline matched up.

Lila "disappeared" right before Mariposa started her attacks.

The evidence was there. 

He just didn't know how to tell Marinette.

After the conversation with Chloe, and a slight existential crisis, Marinette returned, looking tired.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah-" she brushed him off, "just guardian things. I'll explain later. Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"I saw you get hit... you can take the rest of the afternoon off, I know how-"

"I'm fine, Mari." Adrien had been frozen, but he also wanted to work. It was a nice distraction from the fear that his daughter was going to have to fight her mother and end up with the same trauma that he had. 

"If you're sure..." she didn't seem convinced. 

"Yeah. Besides, I want to talk with you later..." he lowered his voice to a whisper, "about guardian stuff."

"Yeah, right." Marinette smiled. "I have a lot to tell you."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, someone asked if I was going to continue this and yes I've always had a plan to write more for this au I just get very easily distracted thanks for reminding me.

After the Akuma attack, Adrien texted Emma, to check in on how she was doing.

She replied that she was fine, school was cancelled, and she was already on her way home. 

Adrien told her that he was in the middle of a shift at the bakery, but would be home soon. He also told her to call, in case of emergency.

Then, he shut his phone and turned back to Marinette. "What do you want to tell me first?"

"We can't talk about this in public." She took a breath. "Follow me, my apartment is only a couple blocks away."

...

Marinette's apartment was not the nicest place Adrien had ever been in. The walls were a funky yellow, and it smelled vaguely of cheese. 

It looked nothing like what he would expect from Marinette. She was the most creative person he knew. He expected artwork on the walls, fun embroidery on the couch, but there was none of that. It was certainly a liveable apartment, but it just didn't feel like Marinette.

"Sit down," Marinette led him to a couch. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Uhh," he shrugged. "I'm fine, thank you." 

What he really wanted to ask was "what happened?" This Marinette was not the girl he once knew. She was the bravest kindest person he knew. She had big dreams and was going to achieve them.

This Marinette worked in her parent's bakery, and was the guardian on the miraculous. Just another person who's entire life was ruined by magic.

Adrien knew that feeling well. Magic had torn apart his family. 

Marinette started by setting an octagonal box on her coffee table. It was covered in red markings, that Adrien identified as Chinese. He couldn't dead what they said, he hadn't practiced in years.

Marinette opened the box. "These are the miraculous. At least, the ones that we have."

Adrien looked, recognizing the turtle, fox, bee, snake, and other miraculous. "Where are the others?" There were three empty spots.

One for the Ladybug, the Black Cat, and the Butterfly.

"When the Butterfly miraculous was... stolen," Marinette frowned, trying to come up with a better word choice, "when the Butterfly miraculous went missing again, I knew I had to assign new heroes. Emma and Blaise passed the tests, and I knew Tikki and Plagg would help them be great new heroes."

"I don't understand how you could just give the miraculous to children though. Why couldn't you fight Mariposa yourself?"

Marinette chuckled. "My Ladybug days are long gone. I don't have that kind of energy anymore."

"You still have great reflexes. You stopped me from burning myself when baking-"

"Reflexes are one thing. I'm too old to fight." 

"I feel that." Adrien nodded. "As much as I want to jump in on the action, I'm slower now. I haven't fought in years."

"That's why I wanted to stay behind the scenes. I really didn't mean to drag you into this mess Adrien, your family has been hurt enough by magic-"

"No." He shook his head. "I think its poetic. Maybe she can right the wrongs of my father."

Marinette nodded. "Emma really reminded me of Chat Noir. She seemed like the perfect hero... Is that weird?"

"No, not at all. When I left Paris, random people everywhere reminded me of you. I never thought I'd see you again."

"We were never super close, Adrien."

"Oh-" Adrien scratched the back of his neck. Right. He still hadn't told her that he was Chat Noir. "Sorry."

"Don't be." She smiled. "I missed you too... just not as much as I missed my partner."

"Yeah, that must've been hard."

"You-" Marinette blinked back tears. "You have no idea. He was my best friend. I trusted him with my life and I don't even know his name."

"Do you ever think about-"

"Everyday I ask myself what could have happened to him. I have no idea. All he left was the ring and a note. We defeated Hawkmoth and he was gone." Marinette started sobbing into Adrien's shoulder.

It had been a little more complicated than that. Adrien had just found out that his father was Hawkmoth. It was too much to handle. He needed to confide in his partner, to reveal his identity go the one person who could possibly understand. 

At the last second, he panicked. 

He confessed his love to Ladybug, again, who laughed it off. 

That had been the final straw.

A heartbroken, struggling Adrien went home after defeating his father. Then, he and Lila....

The next morning when the news about his father broke, Lila left him. She screamed and broke a coffee mug. 

It seemed that everyone in his life didn't want him around.

Adrien had felt like the best thing to do was leave.

He never stopped loving Ladybug, but he knew she would never love him back. Especially not now.

"-and do you want to know the worst part?" Marinette's tears snapped Adrien out of his flashback, back to reality.

"What?" He was almost to scared to ask.

"I never realized how much I loved Chat until he was gone." Marinette shook her head. "He told me he loved me, and I laughed at him. I laughed at him and he left. Then I realized that I loved him too. I'm an idiot."

"You're not the idiot." Adrien ran his fingers through Marinette's hair. "I am. I can't believe I didn't see-"

"Its not your fault." Marinette sat back up. "Its mine."

"What?"

"I'm the one who scared Chat Noir away, not you."

"Well, yeah, but I can help. Marinette I-" the words fell flat on Adrien's tongue. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to say it.

"Chat Noir is the only one who can defeat Mariposa." Marinette sniffled, "and I have no idea where he is."

Part of Adrien wanted to scream "I'm right here!" And hug Marinette tight and never let him go. The part of him that was scared stayed silent. "I trust Emma and Buggaboi. They have defeated all of the akumas with ease."

"Because Mariposa isn't even trying..."Marinette shook her head. "I know what the butterfly miraculous is capable of, and Mariposa is holding back."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Marinette nodded. "I've been paying attention to all of the Akuma battles. Mariposa doesn't even try to get the miraculous."

"..so Chloe was right." Adrien whispered.

"What?"

"Chloe, when she was in the bakery. She told me that Mariposa is just trying to get attention."

"Attention." Marinette repeated. "You think it's a cry for help?"

"Yeah. Whoever she is, she's not causing any real damages. She knows that everything she does will be undone."

"Huh. I didn't realize you were that observant Adrien."

"Thank you." He smiled. "Whoever Mariposa is, she's someone who knows about the miraculous. Either a former ally or someone who worked with Hawkmoth."

"Yeah," Marinette frowned, "but I have no idea who it could be."

Adrien had exactly one idea.

It was a little too convenient that Emma's mom had disappeared right before Mariposa started attacking.

Adrien gritted his teeth. "I have one idea, but I hope, for Emma's sake that I'm wrong."

Marinette went still. "Who do you think Mariposa is?"

"Lila Rossi." 

Marinette relaxed. "Oh. That would make sense, since she worked with Hawkmoth before. She knew about the miraculous and-"

"She has the means and the knowledge." Adrien agreed. 

"But what's her motive?"

"Revenge?" Adrien suggested. "She always disliked Ladybug. Of maybe it is just a cry for attention."

"Do you have any idea where she went?"

"No. She just left, without a trace."

"That's difficult. We have no way of finding her."

"Not yet." Adrien sighed. "If I know Lila, she's going to drop clues. Since she's attacking Paris, she can't be far."

"Are you absolutely positive that it's her?"

"She's the person that makes the most sense. No one else has the means and the motive. She faked her disappearance to throw you off her trail."

"Why do you think she's going easy on Buggaboi?"

"That's easy." Adrien frowned. "She's trying to draw you and Chat Noir out of hiding. She wants revenge on you, not them."

"Are you sure?"

"Lila's petty, but I don't think she would want to hurt a bunch of kids."

"So we have to find Chat Noir, right?"

"That seems like the worst plan."

"I need him." Marinette swallowed. "Without him, I'm half of a puzzle."

Adrien squeezed her hand. "No you aren't. You're amazing Marinette. You were freaking Ladybug. If anyone can take down Mariposa, its you. And I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Adrien, I like you, but you aren't Chat Noir."

He nodded. "I'll do my best to stand in his shoes. But I know, if Chat Noir appears now, fighting alongside you, Lila would unleash all of her powers, and both of you are probably out of shape."

"You think we should stay back and watch?"

"That's exactly what I think."

"But what about Chat?"

"I think he's probably closer than you realize." Adrien winked. One day, he would tell her. As soon as they defeated Mariposa.

Then he and Ladybug could live the happy life he'd always dreamed of. It was perfect. Emma and Marinette even got along well.

He just had to keep his past identity a secret... for now.

Adrien hated lying, but it really was the best choice. For the time being.

Marinette frowned. "You think he's somewhere near? He left because of me. He's gone, probably forever."

"I'm sure that he didn't leave because of you. At least, not just because of you."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Adrien gave Marinette a hug. "And who knows, maybe some day, you two will meet again."

"Thank you." Marinette sneezed. "Excuse me."

"Bless you!"

She got up to go to the bathroom, and wipe her nose.

As Adrien sat on the couch, staring at the miraculous box, trying to figure out how to tell Marinette everything, three things happened in quick succession. 

First, his phone started blaring the Akuma alarm. Adrien flinched, turning the alert off. He wasn't a hero. Not anymore. There was nothing he could do except hide.

Second, his phone started ringing. A call from Emma. Emma who was supposed to be at home. Emma who was also Kitty Noire. She was calling him A call that was only supposed to happen in emergencies.

Adrien picked up the phone.

The voice that answered was not one of a teenage girl, but one of an ancient being of destruction, a cheese gremlin, the likes of which Adrien had thought he would never hear again.

It was Plagg.

"Hey kid, I'm not supposed to do this, but its an emergency. You need to come home, now."

The third thing that happened was the most impulsive. 

Adrien knew that he was too far away from home. It would take at least ten minutes to walk to his car, and another 15 to drive home. 

If it really was an emergency, Adrien didn't have that kind of time. 

For once in his life, he didn't hesitate. His entire life had been meticulously planned, perfectly calculated. 

This was not. It was messy and it was impulsive. 

It was also the best chance Adrien had, if he wanted to be able to help.

He grabbed the horse miraculous out of the miracle box, and teleported home.

Adrien had to blink back tears at the sight before him. "Plagg?"

"Adrien." Plagg nodded. "Its been a while. Thanks for the cheese."

Adrien chuckled. "Still a one-track mind I see, you haven't changed a bit."

"You've changed a lot." 

"I know."

"We don't have time." Plagg placed a ring in his hand. The ring.

"What happened to Emma?"

"Bubbler got her. She's floating somewhere in space."

"That's concerning, Plagg I have to save my daughter!" Adrien looked up towards the sky. "I have to-"

"You have to save the world. Buggaboi's powers will bring her back."

"You're right, you're right." Adrien shook his head. "Plagg, Claws out!"

The familiar rush of magic powered through him. Adrien hadn't felt this way in years.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and smiled. "God, I've missed this."

He didn't have to hear Plagg to know that he felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay, things escalated quickly, what do you think Will happen next? Will Adrien finally tell Marionette the truth? Will he at least tell Emma the truth?   
> Who knows (actually I do ahaha) 
> 
> Yeah let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions, let me know, I think there will be at least two more chapters I have a vague outline.
> 
> I know how I want this to end, I'm just not 100% sure how to get there.


	9. Chapter 9

The rush of power was nothing like Adrien had remembered. He felt the magic of the miraculous, coursing through his veins. He felt stronger, lighter, more nimble. The ache in his back, that had been present for years, faded away. The familiar weight of his baton in his arms gave him a wave of nostalgia. As he ran towards the location of the akuma, the wind rushed through his hair. 

It was exhilarating.

Adrien did his best to ignore the child-filled bubbles floating up to outer space. As long as he could defeat the Akuma, they would bring everyone back. 

Even Emma.

By the time Chat Noir arrived, Buggaboi was engaged in battle with Bubbler.

Nino was taller, but his Bubbler costume hadn't updated one bit. He looked like the same cartoonish villian that he had before. 

The only difference was, the first time Bubbler had been akumatized, he got rid of the adults.

Now, he was getting rid of the children.

Adrien did not have time to unpack all of that. Nino probably needed to see a therapist, everyone in their class did.

When Adrien went to America, he started seeing a therapist, and it helped him work through a lot of things, like the fact that he thought he was unloveable, so he went with anyone who claimed to love him (Lila.) Adrien unpacked a lot in therapy, including daddy issues and using humor as a coping mechanism.

After years of therapy, he was a mostly normal functioning adult who occasionally had nightmares about fighting akuma. He only hoped that Marinette had seen a therapist too.

She seemed to be struggling to work through things too.

When Chat Noir jumped on the rooftop, both Buggaboi and Bubbler stopped in their tracks.

Buggaboi opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "You aren't my partner."

"Well, she's currently somewhere in space. I'm a temporary substitute." Adrien shrugged. "Call me Daddy Noir."

So, he wasn't as smooth as he used to be. 

He still had zero filter.

"I am absolutely not going to do that." Buggaboi laughed. Hard. He had to sit down because he was wheezing. "I will not call you. You're like twice my age."

"Understandable, as soon as I said it out loud I regretted it, I'm the old Chat Noir."

"I'll stick with Chat." Buggaboi offered.

"Sounds good." Adrien nodded. "We are never speaking about this again."

"Agreed."

"Dude," ~~Nino~~ Bubbler said, in his hauntingly familiar voice, "I'm just trying to have fun. You understand, don't you Chat Noir?"

Chat shrugged. "Legally I can't side with Akumas, but tell me the full story, and I'll see what I can do."

"But-" Buggaboi raised his yo-yo.

"Shhhh." Chat shushed him. "Let the adults do the talking." And then he winked.

Had Adrien been a teenager, he would've hated anyone who treated him so condescendingly.

Buggaboi crossed his arms, but didn't say anything. 

Bubbler, as planned, began to monologue. 

Honestly, Adrien spaced out during most of the speech. It reminded him of his own father.

Nino tried to be a good dad, but he felt like he wasn't doing enough. He wanted to bring the family on a fun trip to England for a weekend, and Blaise insisted he couldn't go.

Adrien (with insider guardian information) knew that Blaise couldn't leave Paris because he was Buggaboi, but he also saw where Nino was coming from. 

It would be frustrating, to have someone bail, with no solid reason. He would be frustrated too. 

And a little bit of frustration was all it took for an Akuma to appear. 

...

All in all, Bubbler was easy enough to defeat. 

While Buggaboi seemed hesitant to fight his father, Adrien knew exactly how to defeat him. 

It wasn't the first time he had fought Bubbler.

After destroying the akumatized object, Buggaboi purified it, and Adrien gave the kid a fist bump.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, kid."

Buggaboi blinked. "How did you know?"

"I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two." Adrien shook his head. "Trust me, its not your fault, it's Hawk- Mariposa's. Nino was more frustrated in himself than he was at you."

"How do you know my dad's name?"

"Lucky guess?" Adrien winked. "You probably shouldn't have gold me that he's your dad. Now I know who you are."

"Shit." Buggaboi swore. "Please don't take away my miraculous."

"I won't. I already knew."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I've recently been in contact with the guardian- Chat Noir's ring beeped for the first time. He froze. "What was that?"

"Your timer. Shouldn't you be going?"

"Oh. Right-" Chat Noir yeeted away, zooming across the rooftops.

Just like the good old days.

He rushed home, to find his daughter, sitting on the frontdoor step. 

"Chat Noir?" Emma looked up at him. "How did you get the ring?"

"Plagg found me." 

"Are you going to keep it?"

"No. I'm much too old for this. I'm here to give it back to you." 

"I've never been more stressed than when I was stuck in the bubble without him."

"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel." Adrien chuckled. "Once I got locked in a freezer, and my ring fell off. I thought that was it for me."

"Do you think you can show me how you fight some time? I'd like to learn a few moves from an expert."

"I'd hardly call myself an expert." Chat Noir scratched the back of his neck. "But yeah, I could show you a trick or two."

"That'd be awesome." Emma smiled. 

The ring beeped again. "And, I promise, we can talk- we will talk later, but I really have to go."

"I understand. Its not easy to live a double life."

Adrien pulled the ring off. "I knew you'd understand, we can talk when I get back home."

Emma froze. "Dad?"

"Yeah."

"You're Chat Noir?"

"Yeah, I-"

She let out a laugh. "So that's why you were so weird about the cheese. I was worried that you had seen Plagg."

"Yeah, I kinda knew from the moment I saw you in that suit."

"It does look exactly like me, doesn't it?"

"It does." Adrien agreed.

"And, is that why you asked about the ring? I just said it was from Mom to hide my identity-"

Adrien had already figured that out, but it was nice to be reminded that he had been majorly wrong when he theorized that Lila was Ladybug.

"-but you didn't seem to buy the excuse and I panicked."

Adrien nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"You have no idea how many questions I have for you." 

"Now, we don't have time, but I promise we can talk when I get back."

"Where do you have to go? This seems more important. You were freaking Chat Noir! Nothing is more important than that."

"I need to get back before the guardian realizes I'm missing." Adrien pulled the horse miraculous out of his pocket. "Before she realizes I took this to get here."

"The guardian?"

"The old Ladybug." Adrien explained.

Emma paled. "You know who she is?"

"Yeah."

"Dad, I have this theory-"

"Emma I need to go."

"Listen to me." Emma grabbed his arm. "I'm not sure that you can trust her."

"She was my partner. She's the person I trust most."

"Does she know that you're Chat Noir?"

"Not exactly-" Adrien had planned on confessing. Now seemed like as good of a time as any.

"Good. Keep it that way."

"Why?"

"I'll explain later. When we talk."

With one last apologetic look at Emma, Adrien stepped through the portal, into Marinette's couch. 

He immediate called for transformation, and put the miraculous back in it's slot in the miracle box.

With perfect timing, Marinette chose that moment to exit the bathroom.

She had.... certainly taken a while.

Adrien noticed the new additions. The bags under her eyes seemed more prominent, her mascara was running down her face, like she had been crying.

Ladybug, the love of his life, had cried, and he hadn't been there to comfort her.

Worst of all, Adrien knew that it was probably partially his fault 

"Adrien, are you okay? I just saw the Ladybugs, fixing everything."

"I'm good." He nodded. "I stayed here the whole time. I was safe and sound."

"Oh." She frowned. "I was hoping you saw something."

"Nope." Adrien didn't know why he was lying. He probably should admit the truth, but Emma's words echoed in his mind.

Why didn't Emma trust Ladybug? Ladybug was the person Adrien trusted most of all.

She would be mad, that he hadn't said anything sooner, but Marinette missed Chat Noir. Marinette deserved to know that he didn't hate her.

"I was wishing you could tell me more about Chat Noir. I guess he showed up to the fight."

Adrien shrugged. "All I know is what was on the Ladyblog Live-"

His phone started ringing.

"-Emma is freaking out after the akuma. She says I need to get home now."

"Really? Did she get hit?"

"I don't know." Adrien frowned. "She must have, if Chat Noir showed up."

"Well, now that we know he's here, its time for phase two of the plan." Marinette smirked.

Adrien's phone beeped again. "Sorry, but I really think I should be going. Emma needs me."

"But, the plan-"

"You haven't told me the plan."

"Oh, its-"

"The plan can wait till tomorrow. For now, you know that Chat Noir is alive."

"And he's in Paris. Thats more than I knew before." Marinette frowned. "I just wish I could hold him in my arms again."

"Don't we all." Adrien sighed, remembering the strength he had felt as his superhero self.

"What?"

"Sorry, words aren't coming out right today." Adrien shook his head. "I promise that I Will help you find him."

"You promise?" Marinette held out her hand.

"I do." Adrien shook it. "But right now, I need to get home. Emma needs me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *edit: I wrote the phrase "chat noir yeeted away, zooming across the rooftops" as a joke, but kept it because that's 100% what Adrien's internal monologue would sound like and I couldn't figure out a better way to word it.
> 
> So, who do you think Mariposa is? Will Adrien actually talk to Emma or will he continue to keep his past bottled up inside of him?


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien rushed home. He trusted Ladybug. He trusted Marinette.

Emma was just paranoid, and getting in his head. 

There was no way that Ladybug could be Mariposa, it just didn't add up. 

The idea that someone who used to be a universal symbol of goodwill and justice could become a supervillain was simply preposterous. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. 

Would Adrien listen to whatever his daughter had to say? Absolutely. Even if he didn't agree with her, he wasn't going to brush off her theories. 

And he certainly wasn't going to share his own theory, at least, not without proof. All the evidence Adrien had against Lila was purely circumstantial. 

And a gut feeling. Deep down, Adrien knew that Lila was capable of something like this. 

....

By the time he got home, Emma had assembled a list of questions, that Adrien was able to answer with ease.

He told her about his favorite battle, the time he felt closest to death, the time he did actually die (when Alix was akumatized). 

"Yes, no, yes, once, more than I'll admit, we don't talk about it, I hate the smell of Camembert, I missed Plagg a lot, no I will not be increasing the cheese supply-" Adrien frowned. "Did you write these questions or did Plagg? A concerning amount of them are about cheese."

Emma gave the list a look. "Oh, the last ten questions were all Plagg. He's taking a nap, but told me that I had to get as much cheese as using could."

Adrien chuckled. "That certainly sounds like Plagg."

"I do have one more question though. This is the one thing I really don't understand."

"Go for it."

"Why did you give up the miraculous? I mean, yeah you defeated Hawkmoth, but evil is never really gone. And why didn't you tell anyone why you just disappeared?"

That question walked right up to Adrien and punched him in the gut. He was left speechless, struggling for an answer. "...With great power comes great responsibility."

"I asked for the truth," Emma rolled her eyes, "not spiderman."

"Its.... complicated." Adrien admitted. 

"Let me guess," Emma used air quotes, "it's personal, and has to remain a secret?"

Adrien relaxed. "I'm glad you understand."

"I don't understand-" Emma stood up and started pacing. "Secrets are what tear people apart. You should've told me you were Chat Noir. I should've told you I was Kitty Noir. Your dad should've told you he was Hawkmoth."

"If my dad was Hawkmoth, I'd want to know." Emma snapped.

Adrien didn't say anything.

"Well, are you?"

"Oh Emma-" Adrien's voice cracked. "You don't think I could be Mariposa, do you?"

"At this point, no, but I don't know what to believe. Your dad akumatized himself. Like, I watched the footage, you defeated the akuma, and you didn't even try to keep the ring, so I know it's not you, but I-" Emma's voice trailed off.

"I promise you I am not Mariposa. Yes, I was Chat Noir, and I wanted to tell you, but I kept that a secret to keep you safe. Knowing would put you in more danger."

"I'm not following."

Adrien frowned. "I was Chat Noir. I know the secrets of the miraculous or whatever. If you know who I am, then, you're more at risk of Mariposa attacking you for information-"

"No, like I get it, but it's dumb."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm already in danger, Dad. I fight Akuma like three times a week. Mariposa is already trying to take me down."

"I wanted to keep you safe." He repeated.

"That sounds like an excuse." Emma took a breath. "I thought we weren't going to keep secrets."

"I don't know, okay?" Adrien sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing. I had a bad father, I don't know how to be a parent. I'm trying my best but I have no idea what I'm doing. Its like walking on eggshells, I'm worried that I'm going to fuck things up-" Adrien cleared his throat, "I'm worried that I'm going to mess things up, and I don't want to hurt you."

"I think that was the most honest thing you've ever told me Dad. I get it, I mean, I've never had a dad before."

"And I am so sorry for that. I wish I could've been there for you, but-"

"Mom pushed you away. I know." Emma frowned. "She does that. She pushed everyone away, even me. And then she disappeared." Under her breath, Emma muttered, "what a bitch."

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, it was a bitch move. Who just disappears like that, I mean my mom did but she was-" Adrien shut up. Sharing the specifics of finding his mother in his basement were traumatic, and Emma didn't need to hear that. The only person Adrien had ever discussed it with was his therapist. 

"So, you do swear." Emma raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean I can swear?"

"I try not to make a habit of it, but sure, as long as you don't swear excessively."

"Fucking cool!" Emma swore. "Mom used bad words all the time but yelled at me if I repeated them."

"I'm not going go yell at you," Adrien face-palmed, "but I may have made a mistake."

"Fuck." Emma repeated.

Adrien just sighed, changing the subject. "So, what were you saying about Ladybug earlier? You told me not to trust her."

"I did."

"She's my partner though. She's the one person I trust most."

Emma scratched the back of her neck. It was the same action Adrien did when he felt nervous. "But it's been so long, don't you think she's probably changed?"

"Nope." Adrien smiled. "She's still the same amazing girl she was 16 years ago." 

"Like, I mean-" Emma frowned. "Buggaboi is my best friend, and I trust him, but if we hadn't talked for 15 years, I wouldn't automatically be his best friend again."

"I'm not her best friend. I'm her partner. We're co-guardians of the miraculous." Adrien explained. 

"You're what?" Emma took a step backwards. "Tell me you aren't that oblivious. I told you we can't trust her." 

"Oblivious?" Adrien chuckled. "It's Ladybug, of course I can trust her."

"I'm going to go to my room. I need some space to think."

"Emma, I'm listening. Whatever you have to say, I'm here."

"....I'm not so sure that you are."

"Emma, Ladybug is a hero-"

"No Dad, Ladybug _was_ a hero." 

"What do you mean?"

Emma paused. "Why did you give up the miraculous?"

"What?"

"Just tell me, Dad, why?"

"I-" Adrien blinked. "I can't."

"If you can't trust me with your secrets. I can't trust you with mine."

"Emma, wait-"

It was too late. She had already ran to her room and shut the door.

Adrien knew he messed up, he just didn't know how. He should've listened. He was trying to be better, he just didn't know how.

It was hard to be a parent. 

He loved Emma, unconditionally, he just didn't understand her. 

Obviously, Ladybug was trustworthy. 

Ladybug chose the heroes. Why wouldn't Emma trust her?

Adrien went to Emma's room, to apologize, but he was too late.

He knocked, and she didn't answer.

"Emma, I'm sorry."

He knocked, louder, and nothing. 

Hesitantly, he opened her door.

She wasn't there.

And the window was open. 

That was a classic Chat Noir move. She really was his daughter.

Adrien didn't try going after her. She wanted space. 

They could talk when she was ready. 

And Adrien was not going to bring up that he thought Lila was Mariposa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I went a little heavy on the foreshadowing.....


	11. Chapter 11

Emma didn't come back until after Adrien was asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, she was packing her lunch for school, getting ready to leave.

"Emma, can we please talk?"

"I don't know, can we?" Emma slammed the fridge closed after grabbing out some cream cheese.

"You know how I feel about Ladybug, I trust her."

"I think you're a fool." Emma aggressively tore a bagel in half. 

"And I'm willing to listen to what you have to say. Even if I don't agree, I'll listen."

Emma pulled out a knife and angrily spread the cream cheese on her bagel. "That's the whole problem. You don't want to listen."

"I want to talk. What does Plagg think?"

The kwami phased out of Emma's backpack, "I think you're stupid Adrien."

"That wasn't helpful." Adrien grumbled. 

Emma shoved the bagel in a plastic bag, which she threw into her lunch box. "I'll talk to you later. I still need to thing about things."

"So you're not mad?" 

"Dad, you have no idea how stupid you're being right now. Ugh!" Emma grabbed her backpack and stomped out of the house.

Adrien didn't know what her plan was, since he usually drove her to school. 

As he grabbed his keys and put on his shoes, he caught a glimpse of Emma putting on a bike helmet. He stepped outside. "Are you planning on biking to school?"

"Yes." Emma dragged an old bike out from the garage. Adrien didn't know where it came from. "You can't stop me."

"I wasn't planning on it." 

"Good." Emma sat on the bike, and immediately toppled over. "How do you ride one of these things again."

"Just let me know if you need a ride home."

"I won't." Emma's knee hit the pavement, scraping hard.

"Are you bleeding? Let me grab a band-aid." Adrien rushed inside and grabbed a bandage and some anti-septic wipes. "This might sting."

"I'm not a baby." Emma grabbed the wipes from him. "I can do it myself, I'm fine."

"I know..." Adrien sighed. "Are you sure you don't need a ride?"

"I'm sure." Emma walked until the garage, where there was a suspicious flash of green light. Kitty Noir walked out, wearing Emma's backpack.

Adrien tried to give her his best disapproving stare. "You shouldn't use your powers for personal gain."

She stared back. "You lost the ability to lecture me on powers when you gave them up."

"Thats... fair." Adrien sighed.

Emma paused. "If I tell you what I know about Ladybug, you'll listen, right? You aren't just saying that?"

"Of course I'll listen." Adrien shook his head, "even if its the last thing I want to hear."

"I might... be willing to talk to you later today."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I don't know. I still think you're stupid."

"I-"

"Go do your job. Bring home some cookies. Don't talk to Ladybug."Emma smirked, "Marinette works there, right? She seems cool."

"No promises." Adrien joked. "Yeah, she is cool." In reality, he couldn't avoid Ladybug, since she was his co-worker/girlfriend.

Emma sighed, like it wasn't a joke. 

Maybe she seriously had something against Ladybug.

...

Adrien's day at the bakery was fairly uneventful. He worked the front counter with Sabine, while Tom ran the kitchens. Marinette was nowhere to be found.

Adrien asked about it, and Sabine shrugged. "She's been a little on edge, since Mariposa showed up. She called in sick, but she seemed fine yesterday."

"I'll go check on her after my shift."

"You don't have to do that."

"No, I insist. Marinette's my friend."

"I'll make some soup. And take some croissants."

That's how Adrien Agreste ended up outside of Marinette's apartment, holding soup and an excessive amount of baked goods. He bad three boxes for Marinette, along with over a dozen pastries for himself and Emma, which were left in the car.

When Marinette answered the door, she looked exhausted. The bags under her eyes seemed to have doubled in size. She was slouching, and it looked like she hadn't brushed her hair.

Also, she was wearing the same outfit as she had been the last time Adrien saw her.

"Your mom said you weren't feeling well?" He started. "I brought soup."

"Me? I've never felt better." Marinette took the soup, and brought it to her fridge. "I didn't sleep a wink last night-"

"Thats... concerning." Adrien remarked. "Maybe you should take a nap."

"I can't take a nap. Not when I'm so close to achieving my goal."

"What goal is that?"

"Finding Chat Noir, of course." Marinette rubbed her hands together. "Have I shown you the chart?"

"The Chart?" Adrien asked.

Marinette shook her head. "Not important. Let's establish what we know."

"We know that you need to sleep. And shower. When was the last time you ate food?"

"Yesterday." Marinette shrugged. "Not important. Here's what we know: Chat Noir is alive, and he's close."

"Not important?" Adrien found a bowl, and after taking the soup of of the fridge, poured it in and gave it to Marinette. "You need to eat."

"I can't eat, not until I find Chat."

It wasn't healthy. It was an obsession.

"Marinette," Adrien sighed, "Ladybug, Chat wouldn't want to see you like this. You need to take care of yourself."

"Youre... right." Marinette half-heartedly slurped some soup. "I think I just got so excited at the prospect of seeing Chat again that I forgot about everything else."

"Yeah." Adrien frowned. "You really want to see Chat again? You aren't mad that he left?"

"I am mad. But our time was over. Our duty to Paris was over. He wasn't obligated to stay, not after I pushed him away."

"How do you know that he wants to see you again?" Adrien loved Marinette, he really did, but he didn't like to see her like this. Her obsession with finding Chat Noir had pushed her over the edge. 

If Chat Noir showing up had this much of an effect on her, he did not want to see what would happen if she found out that Chat Noir was in her apartment. 

She'd probably kiss him. 

Adrien wiped that thought from his mind, and tried to change the subject.

"Why did you get this apartment anyways? It doesn't feel very you."

"No," Marinette looked around, "I suppose it doesn't. I didn't want to decorate until Chat Noir moved in."

"Chat Noir?"

"That's why I got this apartment, so I could live somewhere with Chat, when he returned to Paris. We're soulmates. I wasn't going to decorate until he got here."

"How is he supposed to move in with you if he doesn't know who you are?"

"I'll find him." Marinette insisted. "We're meant to be together."

"And the job at the bakery? What happened to fashion?"

"Fighting Hawkmoth took up so much time that I didn't have a chance to apply to many schools. I was supposed to have an internship with Gabriel, but that got cancelled, when everything fell apart. In one week, I defeated my worst enemy, lost the love of my life and lost my chance at my dream job."

"And then you became guardian?"

"Yeah. I had to devote my life to the miraculous, to protecting the world." Marinette looked down. "Nothing else matters. My life fell apart, but that doesn't mean that I can let the world fall apart."

"I should probably get going, but good talk." Adrien gave Marinette an awkward thumbs up. "Please sleep."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Marinette ran into her living area. "I want to give you a miraculous."

"Me?"

"Yeah, if you're going to be helping me, you should be able to protective yourself." Marinette snapped open the miracle box. "Take your pick."

Adrien reached for the snake miraculous, but hesitated. "Which one do you think I'd be best at?" 

"You're familiar with the snake miraculous, correct?"

"I am." Adrien still had nightmares about desperada. He had spent more lifetimes trying to save Ladybug than he had doing anything else. He had been trapped for an eternity, in and endless cycle, unable to- Adrien noticed something. "Where is the Rabbit Miraculous?"

"The miraculous of the Hare?" 

"That's what I meant."

"I gave it to Bunnix, the guardian of time, a long time ago. It doesn't belong with the others. She watches the timeline, and fixes any problems."

"Problems?"

"Like the world ending, or a virus outbreak." Marinette shrugged. "Thats how I know I'm doing the right thing."

Adrien was going to have to serious words with Alix. The arrival of Mariposa meant that she hadn't been watching this time line.... or she had already abandoned it. 

"You're Ladybug, of course you're doing the right thing." Adrien gave her a hug. "I think you should take care of yourself, but devoting your life to the miraculous is a noble life choice. Also, are you free for game night on Friday?"

"Bunnyx hasn't stopped me yet. I can't be that bad." Marinette frowned. "Oh, Adrien, I think we need to break up."

That came totally out of nowhere.

"What?"

"I like you, and I hope we can still be friends, but now that I know that Chat Noir is close, we have to break up so I can date him."

Adrien's hands started shaking. "You're breaking up with me. For Chat Noir?"

Oh the irony. 

"Yeah. Adrien, you're great, but he's my soulmate."

"You don't even know if he wants to date you." Adrien didn't know how he felt anymore. 

"Of course he does." Marinette smiled. "Meant to be, remember?"

"I need to go home."

"I hope we can still be friends."

Adrien sighed. "Get some sleep, Mari."

She ignored him, focusing on her goals."You're still my co-guardian, until Chat comes back."

That's all he ever was to her. A temporary replacement for a partner.

Maybe a friend.

If she ever found out that he was Chat Noir, he had no idea how she would respond. 

He wasn't sure it would be good. It wasn't safe to tell her his identity, even though Hawkmoth was long gone. 

As Adrien went to his car, he hated the sinking feeling in his gut.

Emma had been right. He was a fool.

Ladybug was absolutely unstable, and he had been completely blind to it. She was obsessed with Chat Noir, so much so that she was neglecting her own self-care. She was crazy. Adrien didn't know how he hadn't seen it before. His own love had caused him to ignore her flaws.

Of course, that was what Emma had been trying to tell him.

He couldn't trust Ladybug, because she couldn't trust herself.

As he drove home, Adrien made a mental note to suggest therapy. 

Ladybug needed it as much as he had. 

...

Adrien was not surprised to see Emma sitting on the couch when he got home. She was in her Kitty Noir transformation, which was weird, but not that strange.

He was surprised to see Buggaboi sitting next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Adrien asked.

"Dad-"

"Chat Noir." Buggaboi greeted him.

"You told him my identity?" Adrien folded his arms.

Emma shrugged. "It seemed like the best option. I don't like secrets. We all know each other here."

"You can't tell people your secret identities. That's like rule #1 of being a superhero."

"You don't get to lecture me, remember?" Emma frowned, "we need to talk. And you, you need to listen. Sit down."

Buggaboi nodded. "This is an intervention."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buggaboi is the worst name I've ever come up with, and I do not regret it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written and posted in the span of 45 minute, I will be editing it later today or tomorrow.

Emma frowned, "We need to talk. And you, you need to listen. Sit down."

Buggaboi nodded. "This is an intervention."

Both Adrien and Emma turned to look at him. "What?"

I thought it would be funny to say." Buggaboi shrugged.

"Nice try." Emma patted his head. "You just aren't the funny friend."

"I am the funny friend." Buggaboi insisted.

"It was a nice try." She repeated.

Adrien blinked. The way Emma and Blaise were acting, was exactly how he and Ladybug used to act. "Did you guys- I mean, do you know eachother's identities?"

Emma nodded. "Yep, we revealed last night."

"After everything that happened with bubbler, we thought it would be best if we knew who the other hero was."

"Yeah, if he got stuck before transforming, I could make sure to save him, so no one sees him 

"We could also be each other's alibis." Buggaboi winked. 

Adrien did not miss it.

Emma sighed. "We haven't even gotten to the first PowerPoint."

"Good for you." Adrien cleared his throat. "So if this isn't an intervention, what is it?"

Buggaboi spoke first. "We want you to spy on Ladybug. For us."

Emma elbowed him. "We were getting to that part. I haven't even gotten through one PowerPoint."

"Theres a PowerPoint?" Adrien asked.

"Obviously." Emma rolled her eyes. "There's actually three."

"You two really planned this, didn't you?"

"It was mostly Emma." Buggaboi shrugged. "She told me that my PowerPoints didn't have enough pizzas."

"You thought I said pizzas?" Emma chuckled. "That's why you added pepperoni backgrounds?"

"I was just trying to spice things up!"

"How else would we convince you that Ladybug isn't trustworthy."

"I'm... aware." Adrien frowned. "When I talked to her today, she seemed unhinged."

Buggaboi nodded. "This is great, he's already on our side."

"I am?"

"He isn't."

"Look, Ladybug might be a little unstable," Adrien shrugged, "but I know she's a good person. She gave you those miraculous. Why would she hand out the miraculous if she was the one trying to use them? She already had them."

Emma and Buggaboi facepalmed. 

"Plan B?" Buggaboi asked quietly. "Chloroform."

"No, absolutely not."

"Its the easiest plan."

"We are not drugging my father-" Emma whispered back.

Adrien only half heard what they were saying. "Wait, what?"

"Nothing." Emma pulled out a remote, and clicked it, turning the television on to a PowerPoint titled _Why You are Wrong About Trust: Ladybug is Unstable._

Adrien read the title. "Yeah I'm aware. She told me that Chat Noir matters more than anything, and she was kinda obsessive about it."

"That sounds like progress." Buggaboi elbowed Emma.

"It is." She elbowed him back.

"That means we can skip PowerPoint #1."

"Why would I want to do that?"

Buggaboi frowned. "I may have added... more slides about pizza."

Emma signed and clicked through all of the slides.

There were 30 of them. 

Every slide had at least one picture of pizza. Adrien thought it was best not to comment. 

Emma looked at Adrien. "So, you think Ladybug is unstable?"

"Unstable, but she has good intentions. Why?"

"Just making sure." Emma switched to a different PowerPoint.

This one was titled _Reasons Why We Think Ladybug is Mariposa: Alternate Scenario ppt #7._

Adrien laughed. "Wow, you really were prepared."

"I had to make sure to cover all of my bases. You can't leave until you know what we do. You know too much already."

"Why tell me, if you think I know too much?"

"You know too much for a random civilian." Buggaboi corrected. "For a hero, you don't know enough."

"We have to follow the powerpoints-"

"You want me to help you?" Adrien asked.

"Well, you helped me before." Buggaboi shrugged. "And we will need all the help we can get if we have to fight Ladybug."

"I will get there, first we have to convince you that Ladybug is Mariposa."

"Ladybug isn't Mariposa." Adrien insisted.

"You haven't seen all the evidence." Emma pressed a button. "Slide one-"

Adrien frowned. "I didn't want to tell you this, because I didn't want to hurt you, but Ladybug isn't Mariposa. I've been collecting some of my own evidence, and it all points to one person."

Buggaboi glanced at Emma, "Is this plan Z?"

"I really hope not." Her hands were shaking. "Dad, who do you think Mariposa is?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No-"

"Its your mother."

Buggboi dropped the yo-yo. "How did I get involved in all of this family drama. Yeesh. You guys are like star wars."

Emma laughed. "Whew. For a second there, I thought you were going to say it was you."

"Me? I could never-"

"We know it's not Mom, the first thing I did once I got my powers was track her down. Mariposa is ladybug." Emma repeated.

"No." Adrien shook his head. "You're wrong. You must be confused. Ladybug is just a little lost right now."

"She's been lost for 15 years." Emma folded her arms. "You told me once that Chat Noir died 16 years ago."

"Well, metaphorically yes. I never thought I would be him again-"

"I think Ladybug died that day too."

"But I've talked to her. She's the guardian-"

"She isn't the Ladybug she used to be, trust me."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because she practically told me, when she gave me the ring." Emma was raising her voice. "She-"

"What did she say?" Adrien asked. "Word for word."

Emma frowned. "She said that she wasn't strong enough to stop what was coming next. She said that it was only a matter of time before the butterfly miraculous fell into the wrong hands."

"That doesn't mean anything-"

"The next day the first akuma attacked." Emma folded her arms. "It couldn't have been a coincidence."

"She gave you those miraculous because she lost the butterfly."

"No, she gave us these miraculous so she didn't do something she regretted. You're familiar with the wish, right?"

"Of course I am. My father wanted to bring back mother."

"I think Ladybug wanted to use it to bring back Chat Noir."

"I didn't die."

"As far as she knew, you did." Emma frowned. "If I had the power to grant myself one wish, and someone I loved was gone, I wouldn't be strong enough to resist it either."

"No." Adrien stood up from the couch. "I'm sorry, but you're wrong. You don't know Ladybug like I do. She could never-"

Buggaboi stood up to go after him, but Emma stopped him. "I think we've said enough."

"He said he doesn't believe us. He's going to go tell Ladybug."

"No, he isn't." Emma stared at the hallway that her father had walked down. "He wouldn't betray me like that."

"Are you sure?"

"If I'm wrong, I'm the one that's going to pay the price."

"What do you mean?"

"I've done the math. An eye for an eye. If Ladybug's wish is to get Chat Noir's love, like we think, then I will have never existed."

"I'm not following-"

"If Chat Noir and Ladybug got their happily ever after, my Mom would not have had me."

"Hey, what if your mom was Ladybug?"

Emma laughed. "I really hope you're joking. You've met my mom. She didn't love my dad."

"Maybe because she was in love with Chat Noir."

"Wouldn't that be ironic?" Emma shook her head. "Its not my mom. I just have my figured out who it is. Hopefully we can take down Mariposa before I stop existing."

"We can't let that happen. We have to stop that-"

"It won't happen." Emma insisted. "I won't let it."

She clicked a button on the remote, trying to turn the tv off.

Instead it opened a new PowerPoint titled _Dad, I Would Like To Introduce You To My New Boyfriend_

Buggaboi stared. "I haven't seen that PowerPoint yet."

Emma kissed him on the cheek. "We will probably get to it later."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, you we're absolutely right, but I wasn't going to just tell you that. Not before I posted this chapter confirming it.

Adrien didn't know how he ended up at Marinette's apartment.

Well, he did. She had called in sick to work again, and he had to check on her, after a long day of decorating cookies.

Maybe Emma really was getting into his head. 

He knew it was a bad idea. She was unstable.

A part of him felt like he had to be there, to prove a point. Marinette was the guardian. Marinette was trustworthy.

Mostly, Adrien had to prove that Marinette was not Mariposa. Because he was certain. She could never do something like that.

When he arrived, Marinette set out the miracle box. "Adrien, I need your help."

"Of course." He agreed, without even knowing what she wanted. "How can I help you."

She pulled out the peacock miraculous. "You're familiar with Senti-Monsters, correct?"

"I am." Adrien didn't know where this conversation was headed, but he desperately hoped that the sinking feeling in his gut was wrong.

"We need to draw Chat Noir out of hiding again." Marinette explained. "We need to get his attention."

Adrien hesitantly took the peacock miraculous. "How exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"We have to make a scene. When the next Akuma attacks, you need to create a senti-monster. Not a violent one, but chaotic enough that Chat notices. We don't want to hurt the kids."

"Marinette, I don't think this will work."

"It has to work."

"What if the kids defeat the senti-monster on their own? They might not even need Chat."

"If the kids can handle it, we will have to up the stakes." Marinette frowned. "I don't want to hurt them, but I'd do anything to get Chat back."

"There are so many holes in this plan. Chat Noir could be busy. We don't even know when the next Akuma attack will be."

"He will make time for this. I'm sure." Marinette smirked. "And I think the next akuma attack will be a few minutes from now."

"What?"

"Careful, strong emotions are the easiest to work with." She shushed him.

"What do you mean?"

Marinette transformed, "Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!"

And Adrien was falling.

Falling.

Falling.

He staggered to the ground, sitting on the carpet as the world spun in circle around him. He felt nauseous, and couldn't focus on anything. 

Adrien felt his heart shatter into a million little pieces, each one stabbing him separately. The pain hit him hardest in the gut, worse than any of the guy feelings he had felt and ignored.

He had really trusted her.

Ladybug, the one person that Adrien had trusted about all else, had betrayed him.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Emma was supposed to be lying or confused. It had all been a big misunderstanding. Adrien was going to reveal that he was Chat Noir and they would share a big laugh over it.

In this moment, Adrien realized that none of that was going to happen.

And the worst thing is, part of him had realized from the beginning. Something was off with Marinette when they met, and he ignored it. 

Adrien had been in denial for months.

She was a hero. She used to be a hero.

Adrien looked up at the shell of a woman who used to be his best friend and had one question, "What happened?"

Marinette-

Mariposa was too focused to pay any attention to him. Her eyes were closed, searching for emotions, and it took everything inside Adrien to keep his own emotions in check.

He could not let the world down again. 

Adrien watched as Mariposa communicated with her newest victim and Adrien had one coherent thought. 

He was destined to bring back balance. Chat Noir and Ladybug had always been yin and yang. Creation and destruction.

It was up to him to right her wrongs.

He could not become his father. He could not become Marinette.

He could be better. 

He would be better.

And because he was probably an idiot, Adrien grabbed the miracle box. 

Now, it was time for him to run. 

Preferably before he got himself killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy I have been waiting to write this chapter for so long. So long you guys.
> 
> I was hinting at Marinette being Mariposa from the beginning, and it took a while for you guys to catch on.   
> And so many of you were finally starting to connect the dots in the last few chapters  
> Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly but also, like Marinette.  
> I think the "I would do anything for chat noir" was what made a lot of you go like "wait a minute, mari could be mariposa"
> 
> And then I went really heavy on the foreshadowing and you guys got much more observant than I gave you credit for. 
> 
> I was hoping for more of a suspenseful build-up, where even the audience doesn't know, until Adrien finds out and it's a major plot twist, but like that wasn't how I ended up writing it.
> 
> The one thing I'm surprised no one noticed was what I thought was the most obvious hint. 
> 
> When I first introduced marinette (I think chapter 2 or 3), I describe her as having a pin on her shirt, that reminds Adrien of a dragonfly..  
> Y'all that was the miraculous. 
> 
> Also guardian Adrien.  
> Marinette X Therapy
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought, I love comments, it was so much fun to read all the theories about Marinette being Mariposa, you were all absolutely right, but it was fun to drag it out a little bit longer. 
> 
> Should I tag this as plot twist ?


	14. Chapter 14

Adrien debated his options, but he was in no condition to fight.

The sheer shock value of learning that Marinette was Mariposa blocked any semblance of coherent thought from Adrien's brain.

His fight or flight sense was activated, and all he could do was flight. Flee. All he could do was flee.

He dashed out the door of Marinette's apartment. He hurried down the hallway, sprinted down the staircase.

His mind was scrambled, like an egg he had cooked himself, that was still a little bit runny and also burnt. He had to do something, but he and no time to think. He was baking a cake without an ingredient list, lost confused, and probably going to accidentally start at least one fire. 

He was ready to rush across the road to his car, when he remembered one key ingredient to the recipe he had not yet fully read.

The miracle box.

In his arms was the magic of the miraculous. 

He had to get it to Ladybug- 

Not Ladybug. He couldn't trust Ladybug. For once in his life, for the first time, Adrien wasn't following Ladybug's plan. 

Adrien had to figure out the plan himself.

He could give the miracle box to Emma and Blaise, but that seemed risky. ~~Ladybug~~ Mariposa knew their identities. If she wanted to hurt them, she could. 

And having the miracle box was partially what made Marinette lose her grip on sanity. 

Adrien couldn't give such power and responsibility to someone so young and inexperienced. That was what happened to Marinette, and Adrien wouldn't be able to live with himself if he caused another person to succumb to evil. 

Guving the miracle box to anyone, Emma, Buggaboi, Marinette (especially Marinette), was out of the question. 

The box was a danger to everyone. 

People have an inherent greed, selfishness. People can become disillusioned, thinking that what they are doing is right, to the point that they don't realize that they are wrong. They claim to do bad things for the sake of love and goodness.

They just don't realize how far they've fallen.

Adrien watched it happen to his father, and these seen the effects on Marinette. Bearing the weight of the miraculous was too much for one person. 

Even Adrien, who had gone through years of therapy knew that even he could not handle the power. Given enough time, he too would probably go crazy and power hungry.

But in that moment, Adrien made a choice. A choice to guide and guard. A choice to protect.

Master Fu had flaws, but he never went power hungry. Adrien did not so much plan to hide on the sidelines, but instead set about gathering heroes. 

If he was going to fight Mariposa, he needed all the help he could get. 

He had every miraculous with him, except for the ladybug, black cat, butterfly, and the peacocks which he had foolishly dropped on the floor.

Marinette would be out numbered, assuming that she didn't catch onto his plan and stop him. 

He put on the horse miraculous, feeding him a raising from his pocket (Adrien seriously needed to do some laundry but that's a plot for a different story) and transformed. 

He counted through the miraculous, picking out a select few. He could only ask the most experienced heroes to face Mariposa. Only the one's that knew her best.

Adrien thought he knew her too, once upon a time, but she had changed.

Luckily, he learned, as he made his first pit-stop, Alya and Nino had not. They were willing to risk their lives like they were teenagers again.

After sending the twins over to their neighbor's house, Alya and Nino did not hesitate to transform.

Chloé was a bit harder to convince, but she agreed to take down Mariposa. Adrien accidentally revealed himself and other than Chloe punching him in the face once, she took it rather well.

Adrien proceeded to switch miraculouses, because the horse was out off energy, and hid the whole box in the last place Marinette would look: the back of Chloe's closet. Realistically, it was such a maze back there that the box might never be found again. Chloe's closet was one of the unsolved mysteries of the world, like Ikea, or Adrien's backpack. Somehow, it was bigger on the inside. 

Adrien could only hope that it was big enough. 

So Adrien had assembled a team of sorts. Between his squad and the new heroes, surely they could figure something out. The newest akuma, an updated Anansi was wreaking havoc on Paris, trapping everyone in webs. Adrien and Co. managed to avoid it as they looked for the next generation of miraculous holders. They met as a group on the Eiffel Tower and-

"What do you mean you don't have a plan, Dad!"

"I have a plan..." Adrien shrugged, "I just haven't figured out all the steps yet. Together, we have to take down Mariposa."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Still working on it."

"Well, work a little faster." 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa I just posted two chapters what is this? They're both SHORT, that's what it is

Rena Rouge was the first to go down. Her illusions were no match for the brute force of Anansi. Carapace got taken by surprise, dropping his shield when he watched Rena get stuck. That gave Anansi the perfect opportunity to 

Before Adrien could blink, his daughter shoved him out of the way. She took the hit for him, getting stuck to the Tower. "Its up to you now."

"But what about-" Adrien looked around. All of his friends, all of his allies were stuck in webs. Trapped. Unable to break free.

He really was Paris's last chance. 

Luckily, Adrien had snagged the snake miraculous which gave him to ability to have a second chance. And maybe one after that. He activated the switch on his wrist, and took a deep breath.

This was it.

It was the way it was always supposed to be.

Marinette had said that the only person who could defeat her was Chat Noir, and now, he was the only one left.

Anansi didn't bother trapping him, instead telling him that Ladybug had some words for him. He didn't think they were kind ones.

Adrien had no ideas what words to say or where to begin, but he slithered towards Marinette's apartment.

He kicked down the door, and she laughed. "I've been expecting- oh."

Adrien folded his arms. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Chat Noir should've been here by now. He wouldn't miss out on an opportunity like this. Where is he?"

"Maybe," Adrien replied truthfully, "he's figured everything out and he has no idea how to face you. Maybe he doesn't know where to begin."

"Maybe my clues weren't obvious enough."

"I figured you out, didn't I?"

"Only after I revealed myself. That was a mistake. I should've kept the miraculous to myself."

"Telling me was the best choice you made. I can help you Marinette. Give me your miraculous and we can finally heal. You need therapy, and-"

"I should've known that you would betray me." 

"I would never betray you. This is for your own good." Adrien blinked back tears. "You're the one who betrayed yourself."

"You're right. Even if Chat Noir finds me, he's going to hate what I've become."

"He could never hate you."

"How do you know?"

"Because I don't hate you. I pity you, Marinette. You've fallen so far and I just-"

"I don't care what you have to say." Marinette snarled. "You don't know me."

"I thought I did."

"Everyone thought they did." She laughed. "They thought I was just another washed up artist, a colleges drop out. No one else could see the greater plan."

"You're delusional."

"I'm powerful."

"Same thing."

"I don't care what you think, Adrien. I don't have that silly little schoolgirl crush on you anymore." She sighed. "The only person whole opinion matters right now is Chat Noir's."

"Well, then you might want to hear me out."

"Why?"

"Well, buggaboo, believe it or not, I was Chat Noir."

"What did you just call me?"

"Buggaboo"

"Chaton?" Mariposa froze, falling to her knees. "No, you can't be. That's not possible-"


	16. Chapter 16

"Believe it or not," Adrien revealed, "I was Chat Noir."

He wished that he had all of the heroes of Paris by his side, but in the moment, he was alone. This was his toughest battle and he had to do it by himself. 

Luckily for him, Mariposa believed it. "Chaton, you have to understand. I did this all for you. I love you."

If Ladybugs had told him that fifteen years ago, he would've jumped into her arms without hesitation, but after everything that had happened, he couldn't do that. "No, you're obsessed with me." 

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes, and it's important." Adrien put his face in his hands. "Its unhealthy."

"Its true love." Mariposa smiled. "I love you, and you love me. We can finally get our happily ever after. Just like you always wanted."

"Honestly, I don't know what I want anymore."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"You broke up with me first."

"That doesn't count. I didn't know you were Chat Noir."

"I didn't know you were Mariposa."

She frowned. "I can still fix this. I can use the rabbit and jump back and-"

"You know you can't mess with the timeline that much. Also, as go-guardian, I've taken the miraculous and hidden them some place you'll never find them."

"So this is it?" She asked. "Its over?"

"This is it."

"Will you go on a date with me?"

Adrien blinked. "Of course not. Neither of us are in a good place to be dating people right now."

"So, that's a maybe?"

"Its a no." Adrien repeated. "Marinette, I think we are better off as friends, if even that."

"Friends?"

"You have a lot going on, emotionally, and I have a lot of trauma and a daughter and it would be a toxic relationship."

"Maybe you're right."

"Not to mention the fact that you'll be going to prison for a long time."

"I will?"

"You've terrorized Paris."

"I didn't cause any lasting damage. It was all for attention."

Adrien sighed. "You seriously need some therapy."

"I probably do." Mariposa recalled the akuma and dropped her transformation.

He didn't know how much more of a fight he could have handled. 

The next few hours, weeks, months were a blur.

After recharging Sass, he brought Marinette into the police station for an official statement. 

The court case was a nightmare. 

Against his better judgement, Adrien volunteered to be her defense lawyer, when no one else would do it. 

He argued that due to the trauma caused by fighting Hawkmoth at such a young age, Marinette was emotionally stunted. In order to argue his case, he had to out her as Ladybug to the entirety of Paris. 

Not like it mattered. She was not going to be trusted with a miraculous any time soon, it ever again. The power had gone to her head. 

It made him worry about Emma.

Marinette got off with a fine, (that Adrien paid out of guilt), a mandatory week-stay in the local mental hospital and mandatory months of therapy. She would also be relocating back to the bakery, not trusted to live on her own.

Which was fair.

Emma finally showed him that last PowerPoint. She and Blaise started dating, and they were really cute together. He did his best to be a supportive parent.

It hurt to see what he and Ladybug could have been. 

Adrien avoided the bakery for as long as he could, but everything reminded him of her. Even hanging out with Nino and Alya felt wrong, like there was something missing. 

Eventually, he couldn't fight the feeling anymore, and went to the bakery.

He bought himself a single croissant. Sabine gave it to him, free of charge. 

"Please, after everything I've done to your family, let me pay for this."

"Adrien, you saved Marinette. If it hadn't been for you, she would've been locked up for years. I'd give you a thousand free croissants."

"I guess I could accept this one."

Sabine gave him a sad smile from the register. "Adrien, its been a while."

"It has. Can I talk to Marinette?"

"I don't know if you're supposed to-"

"Oh he's definitely not supposed to talk to me." Marinette walked out from the kitchen. "I have to get over my obsession and move on with my life."

"I came here to apologize." 

Marinette glared. "That's funny. You're the one who ruined my life."

Sabine crossed her arms. "Marinette, you can't blame others for your mistakes."

"I'm not supposed to hide my feelings anymore, Mom. That's what made me close it. I feel like Adrien ruined my life, and I'm going to tell that to his face."

"It was rude."

It stung. It was partially true, but it still hurt. Adrien took a second to respond. "I'm sorry, Marinette, it was for the greater good."

"What do you want from me? Did you just come here to gloat?"

"I came here to apologize and make amends." Adrien scratched the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you wanted to play some Ultimate Mecha Strike?"

Sabine stared at him like he had grown a second head. "I do not get paid enough for this, mon deiu."

Marinette's face softened. "Yeah, I think I could do that."

And it was progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus scene that I couldn't fit it:  
> Lila comes back and is on Adrien's doorstep apologizing for everything. She tearfully explains that she felt Hawkmoth's presence and knew that if she didn't leave, she would become a monster again.  
> Some of it is lies and exaggerated, but there's a lot of truth to it. Lila would have been a powerful enemy, a pawn in Marinette's four dimensional game of chess. Lila actually admits that she would have been too weak to resist the call of an akuma.  
> So she is capable of change. But she still abandoned her daughter.  
> Emma chooses to stay with Adrien, but visits her Mom on the weekend.
> 
> .....  
> Wow look at me finally finishing this whoo its been a while. This is currently my second longest fic. I usually don't write above 10 thousand words and this is at 20 thousand, I believe. I put a lot of time into figuring out exactly where I wanted this story to go.  
> Its probably the most pre-planned/edited story I've posted so far. From the very beginning, I knew that Marinette was Mariposa and it wasnt going to be the happiest of endings. 
> 
> I wanted to add Lila in, but I couldn't make it work with the story. She was a red herring, someone that Adrien could blame, even though it wasn't her fault.
> 
> I'm sure this probably isn't the ending you wanted, but they never were going to get their happily ever after. It just doesn't make sense.  
> The most I could give them was a tentative friendship, if that. 
> 
> Also, why have I made Marinette a villain/unstable in the last three things I've written what is this? Who have I become?
> 
> Let me know what you thought in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, do you read/write/art for this fandom? Check out the [ miraculous fanworks ](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) discord server.


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